ABSTRACT

Max Ernst, one of the prominent figures of Surrealism, an important counter-movement of the 20th century, produced a significant number of works focused on the theme of the “forest”. The influence of the forest image on Ernst dates back to his childhood. The emphasis he makes, in his interviews, on the walking tours in the forest with his father who was an amateur painter, foregrounds this image as an important autobiographical element and a pointer to the traumas of his childhood. Beside its autobiographical significance, this image is a metaphorically rich element in German Romantic philosophy and literature which Ernst was deeply influenced by. For Ernst, whose work bears the influence of Caspar David Friedrich and German poets and thinkers such as Schelling, Carus and Novalis, nature and the forest imply a symbolic structure, laden with metaphors, which, in turn, provides a means for knowing and analyzing oneself. Considering his surrealist stance, we can also note that the image of forest, for Ernst, serves, in a way, a metaphor for coming to terms with civilization. The concept of civilization was brought under scrutiny especially by Surrealist artists in the 20th century which was dominated by wars, tragedies and destruction. Along with some other images, the forest served for him as a field of contest whereby the dichotomy of nature/culture could be questioned in terms of Surrealism’s endeavour to reconcile contradictions. The techniques such as frottage and grattage that he applied in creating his works expose his paintings to “objective chance”, a key element of Surrealist movement. In this sense, the forest is uncontrollable, wild and threatening as well as a mysterious and enchantening space abounding with elements which motivate the unconscious and open to dreams.