Two Children are Threatened by a Nightingale - Max Ernst
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Description
A seminal Surrealist work by Max Ernst, featuring a dreamlike scene that combines oil painting with physical wooden elements to create a disorienting, narrative experience.
Two Children are Threatened by a Nightingale, created in 1924, is a seminal work within the Surrealist movement. Max Ernst combined traditional oil painting with physical wooden elements, such as a gate and a latch, which are attached directly to the surface of the panel. This construction blurs the boundary between a two-dimensional image and a three-dimensional object, a technique that invites the viewer to question the reality of the scene depicted.
The composition presents a dreamlike, unsettling narrative. A small wooden gate stands open on the left, while a shed occupies the right side of the frame. A figure runs towards the gate, and another lies prone on the grass. A man stands atop the shed, reaching for a knob that appears to control the scene. The title, inscribed at the bottom of the work, contrasts sharply with the visual elements, as the nightingale itself is a small, almost insignificant bird in the sky. The juxtaposition of these disparate objects and the irrational nature of the event are characteristic of Ernst's approach to the unconscious mind.
Ernst drew inspiration from his own childhood memories and fever dreams. The work functions as a visual manifestation of a nightmare, where familiar objects are stripped of their logical context and reassembled into a disturbing tableau. The inclusion of the wooden gate and latch serves to anchor the painting in physical space, yet the perspective remains disjointed and illogical. By integrating these tactile components, Ernst forces an interaction between the viewer and the artwork, moving beyond the passive observation typical of traditional painting. This piece remains a primary example of how Surrealist artists utilised irrationality and the juxtaposition of incongruous elements to explore the hidden depths of human experience.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
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Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
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Care & Cleaning
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- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
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Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Two Children are Threatened by a Nightingale - Max Ernst
Artist Biography
Max Ernst
He was born in Brühl, near Cologne, and studied philosophy and art history at the University of Bonn. He had no formal art training. He saw a Picasso exhibition, joined the Rhineland Expressionists, served in the German army during the First World War (artillery), and emerged with what he described as a compulsion to find something beyond rational thought. Dada gave him the method. Surrealism gave him the framework.
His collage novels, made from cut-up Victorian engravings reassembled into dreamlike narratives, are among the most original works of the twentieth century. Une Semaine de Bonte (A Week of Kindness, 1934) is a series of 182 collages arranged in five chapters, each associated with an element and a day of the week. The imagery is violent, erotic, and funny. The source material, melodramatic Victorian illustrations, is treated with deadpan seriousness.
He married four times. His second wife was Peggy Guggenheim (briefly). His fourth was the painter Dorothea Tanning. He moved to America during the war, lived in Sedona, Arizona, and then returned to France. He died in Paris in 1976, the night before his eighty-fifth birthday.
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