Ernst, Max. Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbre, 1944. oil on canvas, Framed: 87.3 x 171.1 x 5.7 cm (34 3/8 x 67 3/8 x 2 1/4 in.); Unframed: 68 x 150 cm (26 3/4 x 59 1/16 in.). Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund, 2002.55. Copyrighted undefined.

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Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbre

1944

Max Ernst

Max Ernst (German, 1891–1976)

Modern European Painting and Sculpture

Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbre, 1944. Max Ernst (German, 1891–1976). Oil on canvas; framed: 87.3 x 171.1 x 5.7 cm (34 3/8 x 67 3/8 x 2 1/4 in.); unframed: 68 x 150 cm (26 3/4 x 59 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2002.55 © 1944 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ ADAGP, Paris A frightening fish isn't the only strange thing about this scene; it's also painted in an unusual way. To create more abstract areas in the center of the painting, Ernst lifted paint from the surface using perhaps a cloth or sheet of paper, allowing abstract patterns to form in the process. Called decalcomania, this method blots paint in ways that resemble plants and minerals. Elsewhere in the work, smoothly painted fish scales seem almost traditional by comparison. Scientific analysis of this painting shows that the black background was added last.

Maker/Artist: Ernst, Max
Classification: Painting
Formatted Medium: oil on canvas
Medium: oil, canvas
Dimensions: Framed: 87.3 x 171.1 x 5.7 cm (34 3/8 x 67 3/8 x 2 1/4 in.); Unframed: 68 x 150 cm (26 3/4 x 59 1/16 in.)
Inscribed: Inscription: signed and dated lower right: max ernst 44
Departments: Modern European Painting and Sculpture
Accession Number: 2002.55
Credit Line