Max Ernst Artwork
Ubu Imperator, Max Ernst 1923
Ubu Imperator was created by Max Ernst in 1923. The artist’s knowledge of Freudian theories, familiarity with myth and extreme with are reflected in this early painting, which considered proto-Surrealist due to its strange juxtapositions.
Inspired by Alfred Jarry’s absurd theatre play King Ubu, this painting represents oppressive power in an ironic and satirical manner. In an empty landscape, the “Imperator” is depicted as an anthropomorphic top, framed in a red armour and with human hands expressing surpise. These miscellaneous elements are mixed together to create an absurd and grotesque idea of authority.
Title : Ubu Imperator
Artist : Max Ernst
Published: 1923
Style: Dada
Period : First French Period
Genre: Symbolic painting
Oil on Canvas