Dadamax

The Punching Ball or The Immortality of Buonarroti-also known as Dadafex Maximus. Self Portrait of Max Ernst-Max Ernst 1920

The German artist Max Ernst who has been the subject of a number of posts here, was one of the key figures linking Dada to Surrealism. A founding member of Cologne Dada in 1919 Ernst titled himself Dadafex Maximus; Dadamax for short. Ernst experimented with photomontage during this period, the favoured medium of the Dadaists, before switching to collage and painting. Moving to Paris in 1922 he was a prime mover of the transitional period between the dissolution of Paris Dada and the start of Surrealism proper in 1924 with the publication of the First Surrealist Manifesto, known as the mouvement flou.

Above and below are works created in the Dada period, including The Elephant Celebes of 1921, a painting that combines the dreamlike composition of De Chirico with Dada collage techniques and thus anticipating the style so favoured by later Surrealists.

The Elephant Celebes-Max Ernst 1921

Little Machine Constructed by Minimax Dadamax in Person, Max Ernst 1919-1920

The Word or Woman-Bird-Max Ernst 1921

The Hat Makes the Man-Max Ernst 1920

Physiomythological Diluvian Picture, 1920-Max Ernst & Hans Arp

Oedipus Rex-Max Ernst-1922

At the First Clear Word-Max Ernst 1923