Max Ernst

Painter

Birthday April 2, 1891

Birth Sign Aries

Birthplace Bruhl, Germany

DEATH DATE Dec 1, 1976 (85)

#137,233 Most Popular

About

Pioneer Dada and Surrealist artist whose works included "Ubu Imperator" from 1923 and "L'Ange du Foyer" from 1937. He and another surrealist, Hans Bellmer, were interned in Camp des Milles during September 1939 because they were classified as undesirable foreigners.

Before Fame

He attended the University of Bonn, where he studied philosophy, art history, literature, psychology, and psychiatry. It was during this time that he frequented asylums, mainly because of his fascination with the art of the mentally ill residents.

Trivia

He had a lasting friendship with artist Jean Arp, whom he first met in 1914.

Family Life

He was born the third of nine children to a Catholic family living in Brühl. His father was an amateur painter and a teacher of the deaf. He had a son in 1920 with Luise Straus. Later, he married painter Dorothea Tanning.

Associated With

He was inspired by the work of Vincent Van Gogh.