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Fireside Angel


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Artist: Max Ernst
Date: 1937
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 112.5 x 144 cm
Event: Spanish Civil War
Motif: Violence  



This is one of the rare pictures by Max Ernst which refer directly to a political incident. He commented on this: "The Fireside Angel is a picture I painted after the defeat of the Republicans in Spain. This is, of course, an ironical title for a kind of clumsy oaf which destroys everything that gets in the way. That was my impression in those days of the things that might happen in the world. And I was right." The Fireside Angel is depicted as an avenging character from the Bible. Its destructive potential is stressed by its aggressive coloring. In the figure of the angel, blind traumatizing force is expressed, against which mankind is defenseless. Since there is no hope for negotiations with an inhuman force, the blind aggressor seems even more frightening.

Credits: © 2001 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP Paris.