BILBAO.- The Bilbao Fine Arts Museum has opened the second chapter of its exhibition “Max Ernst. Paris, 1922 – 1928,” adding Gallery 17 to the route and unveiling the complete portfolio Histoire naturelle (1926). This expansion builds on the first installation presented in February and brings to 54 the total number of works on view, all lent to the museum for five years from a single private collection.


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Except for one frottage dated 1957, every piece in the deposit was produced between 1922 and 1928, a formative period in which Ernst shifted from Dadaism toward Surrealism and pioneered techniques that would reshape twentieth‑century art. Chief among these innovations is frottage—the practice of rubbing graphite over textured surfaces to generate unexpected images—which Ernst discovered in a hotel room in Pornic, France, when he captured the grain of wooden floorboards beneath a sheet of paper. The resulting drawings, full of dreamlike hybrids that hint at plants, fossils, and strange creatures, later formed the basis of Histoire naturelle. The portfolio’s 34 phototype plates, preceded by a text from French sculptor Jean Arp, were first shown in March 1926 at the Galerie Van Leer in Paris and published the following month in a limited edition of 306 copies; copy number 3 is now on display in Bilbao alongside the original drawing Les Éclairs au‑dessous de quatorze ans (1925).

The deposit comprises 14 paintings, four drawings, two frottages, and the 34 phototypes from Histoire naturelle, as well as a temporary loan of a sculpture and archival documents. Curated by the museum’s modern and contemporary art specialist Miriam Alzuri Milanés, the presentation features key works such as Deux jeunes filles en de belles poses (1924), Les mains aux oiseaux (1925), Jeunes gens piétinant leur mère (1927), and Fleurs‑écailles (1928). Early drawings like La Belle jardinière (c. 1921‑22) and L’Ombre (1923) appear alongside paintings acquired from other collectors, including Danseur sous le ciel (Le Noctambule) (c. 1922) and L’Éloge de la folie (1924).

All 54 works originated with Aram Mouradian, the Armenian‑British dealer who, with Dutch partner Leonard van Leer, opened the influential Galerie Van Leer at 41 rue de Seine in 1925. Mouradian championed Ernst’s art in Paris, staging the artist’s first two Surrealist solo exhibitions in 1926 and 1927 and amassing a trove that now offers Spanish audiences a rare, cohesive view of Ernst’s Paris years.

Max Ernst (Brühl, 1891 – Paris, 1976) studied philosophy, literature, and psychiatry before turning fully to art. After frontline service in the First World War he joined Cologne Dada, moved to Paris in 1922, and soon became a central Surrealist figure through his relentless technical experimentation—including frottage, grattage, and later decalcomania. Ernst spent the Second World War in the United States and returned to France in 1953, by then an internationally celebrated artist.

“Max Ernst. Paris, 1922 – 1928” remains on view through 30 September 2025. Gallery 17 is devoted solely to Histoire naturelle, while Galleries 18–20 survey paintings, drawings, and early frottages, offering visitors an in‑depth look at a pivotal moment in the history of Surrealism.


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