Max Ernst is a German painter and sculptor, considered the precursor of Surrealism. Born in 1891 in Germany, Max Ernst has been immersed in the world of art since his early childhood, his father being a painter. While studying literature at the University of Bonn, he abandoned his studies before the end of his studies to devote himself to art. He joined an expressionist group and exhibited for the first time in Cologne in 1912, before leaving for Paris in 1913 after meeting Guillaume Apollinaire.

However, the First World War broke out and Max Ernst served in the German army. It wasn’t until 1922, after founding the Dada group in Cologne, that he returned to Paris and led a prolific career. He exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants in 1923, created “La belle jardinière” in 1924, and above all invented the rubbing technique, comparable to automatic writing, in 1925. In 1929, he published the first collage book “La femme 100 têtes”, an experience he repeated in 1934 with “Une semaine de bonté”. The following year, he took part in Luis Bunuel’s film “L’âge d’or” as an actor. In 1934, when he had his first exhibition in the United States, he also started sculpting and produced works such as “Jeune femme en forme de fleur” (Young woman in the shape of a flower).

The Second World War led to the arrest of Max Ernst in 1939. Nevertheless, he managed to leave France and join the United States in 1941, where he worked on abstract expressionism and wrote the treatise “Beyond painting” in 1948.