Max Ernst

Max Ernst montrant à une jeune fille la tête de son père [Max Ernst Showing a Young Girl the Head of his Father]

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About this artwork

This large work was painted while Ernst was working with the surrealist group in Paris, and seems to highlight his oedipal conflicts with his father - the Surrealists were fascinated with psychology and the theories of Sigmund Freud. The 'young girl' may be the artist's dead sister, in which case an incestuous triangle of father, son and daughter is implied. Ernst used a technique that he invented, called 'grattage' to create the forest. This involves the painted canvas being laid over a rough wooden surface and scraped to produce a rich, grainy texture. The large ring in the background represents the sun.

Updated before 2020

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  • artist:
  • title:
    Max Ernst montrant à une jeune fille la tête de son père [Max Ernst Showing a Young Girl the Head of his Father]
  • date created:
    1926/7
  • materials:
    Oil on canvas
  • measurements:
    114.30 x 146.80 cm; Framed: 133.30 x 166.00 x 8.00 cm; 34.00 kg
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Accepted in lieu of tax and allocated to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art 1998
  • accession number:
    GMA 3972
  • gallery:
  • depicted:
  • subject:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
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Max Ernst

Max Ernst