Chapter 1
Dada, collage, and the scars of war
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Chapter 2
Inventing new ways to paint
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Answer
Chapter 3
Loplop and the world of birds
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Chapter 4
Escape, Sedona, and final years
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YOUR GOAL
Master of The world of Max Ernst
Ch 2 · Inventing new ways to paint
schopenhauer Max Ernst's painting techniques
Rub the floorboards, scrape the canvas, watch the dreams appear!
schopenhauer Using decalcomania, Max Ernst pressed wet paint between surfaces to create organic, sponge-like textures of ruined worlds.
Fun Fact
Floorboard inspiration: Ernst invented frottage after staring at a hotel room floor and realizing how the wood grain looked like strange creatures.
schopenhauer Ernst adapted his rubbing technique into grattage, a method of scraping wet paint off a canvas to uncover hidden textures.
Glossary
frottage (noun)
An artistic technique of taking a rubbing from an uneven surface to form the basis of a work of art. Max Ernst pioneered this technique in 1925 after being inspired by worn wooden floorboards.
An artistic technique of taking a rubbing from an uneven surface to form the basis of a work of art. Max Ernst pioneered this technique in 1925 after being inspired by worn wooden floorboards.
schopenhauer Drag textures onto the canvas to discover how Max Ernst invented new ways to paint.
Quiz
What did Max Ernst use to rub over textured floorboards to create his first frottage drawings?
Quiz
Which technique involves pressing paint between canvas and glass to create organic, moss-like textures?
Quiz
Which famous American abstract expressionist was inspired by Max Ernst's dripping paint technique?
Quiz
What physical object did Max Ernst swing on a string to invent the 'oscillation' paint-dripping technique?
Quiz
What did Max Ernst place under his canvases during his grattage scraping process to create patterns?
Quiz
In the technique of grattage, what action does Max Ernst perform on the painted canvas?