Max ERNST (1891-1976)

Pebble painted in oil on both sides, circa 1934

12 x 10.5 cm (+/-)

Certificate from Mr. Pierre Agoune dated February 2, 1994.

Bibliography:
– Max Ernst, “sculptures maisons paysages,” Ed. Dumont / Centre Georges Pompidou, 1998, pp. 80-81, 88. Similar pebbles reproduced.

Other pebbles are in the collections of the New York MoMA, Zurich Kunsthaus, and the London National Trust Collection.

Ernst found this pebble during the summer of 1934 near the Swiss mountain hamlet of Maloja, close to St Moritz.
He was staying with the sculptor Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966). Both artists were fascinated by the smooth shapes into which the local granite had been fashioned by Alpine glaciers. This stone was taken from a stream that flowed near Giacometti’s house.