In the summer of 1934, Max Ernst painted a vast mural for the Dancing Mascotte in the Corso-Theatre in Zurich, which he charmingly titled "P tales et jardin de la nymphe Ancolie," or "Petals and Garden of the Nymph Ancolie." A magnificent celebration of animal and vegetal biomorphism commingling against an empty pale blue backdrop, this Floating World/Surrealist epic marks a mood of joyous liberation for Ernst, a contrast with his previously more nightmarish depictions of nature. It is a painting that imbues plant life with eroticism--the eponymous nymph Ancolie, lurking in slumber behind flowers and leaves, is a totem for this pantheistic optimism (her name being a cropped and more buoyant version of "Melancholie"). Over the decades this mural, acting as a backdrop for dancing couples, sustained predictable damages to its lower half--it was twice over painted with a muddy gray and entirely covered with varnish--until it was eventually removed, broken down into panels and entrusted to the Kunsthaus Zurich. Taking "P tales et Jardin de la Nymphe Ancolie" as its touchstone, this volume examines the numerous paintings, collages and sculptures by Ernst that engage plant life and the morphing of nature into anthropomorphic or human figures. Along the way, the book also touches upon related themes in the artist s work, such as mechanics and eroticism in his Dadaist collages, as well as his use of automatism and coincidence in the rubbings he called frottages.
Born in Germany, and variously resident in Cologne, Paris, Arizona and the South of France, Max Ernst (1891-1976) was one of the few artists to participate in and outlive both Dada and Surrealism.
- ISBN10 377572219X
- ISBN13 9783775722193
- Publish Date 1 December 2008
- Publish Status Unknown
- Out of Print 7 April 2021
- Publish Country DE
- Imprint Hatje Cantz
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 224
- Language English