Max Ernst

Max Ernst (1891-1976) was a German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and poet. Ernst is considered to be one of the primary pioneers of the Dada movement and Surrealism. In 1909 Ernst enrolled in the University of Bonn, studying philosophy, art history, literature, psychology and psychiatry. In 1925 he invented a technique called frottage, which uses pencil rubbings of objects as a source of images. He also created another technique called ‘grattage’ in which paint is scraped across canvas to reveal the imprints of the objects placed beneath. With the help of journalist Varian Fry, Ernst fled Germany and eventually settled in Sedona, Arizona, where he married the artist Dorothea Tanning.