Illustrations from Oedipe, vol. 4 of Une Semaine de Bonté ou Les Sept Eléments Capitaux

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Illustrations from Oedipe, vol. 4 of Une Semaine de Bonté ou Les Sept Eléments Capitaux

Artist Max Ernst (French, 1891-1976)

Date1934

Dimensionssheet: 10 3/4 x 8 1/8 in. (27.3 x 20.6 cm)

MediumReproduction of collages

ClassificationBooks

Credit LineMrs. George W. Stevens Fund

Object number

1986.81D

Not on View

Label TextErnst assembled Uen Semaine de bonté, his most famous collage novel and a landmark of Surrealist invention, in a three-week burst of creative activity while on a holiday visit to Italy in 1933. From a suitcase filled with illustrated pulp novels, scientific journals, and natural history magazines, he grafted together the novel's 182 illustrations to form his longest collage effort. The work was published in five paperbound booklets, appearing individually from April through December 1934, much like a novel in parts by Charles Dickens or a serialized popular story. As the title would suggest, Une Semaine de bonté is divided into seven sections corresponding to the days of the week. Ernst introduced each day with a title page listing the artist, the full title, and the word roman (the French word for novel), leaving no doubt that this series of collages was to be considered a novel without words. The first booklet or chapter of UNE SEMAINE DE BONTE is Sunday; its element is given as mud (the alchemical reference to earth), and its protagonist is the main character of the book, the Lion of Belfort. In each of the volume's 35 collages, the Lion of Belfort is represented by feline-headed men who dominate and link the dramatic action.Published ReferencesRainwater, Robert, ed. Max Ernst, Beyond Surrealism, The New York Public Library, 1986, cf. pp. 168-69, (cat. nos. 33, 33a); in essay by Evan M. Maurer, "Images of Dream and Desire: The Print and Collage Novels of Max Ernst," pp. 78-91 Max Ernst: livros e obra gráfica, Lisbon, 1987, pp. 71-79, reprs.