Max Ernst Lot n° 33

Max Ernst Les trois philosophes (The three philosophers) Around 1955 Oil on wood. 31.4 x 77.1 cm. Framed. Signed 'max ernst' in black lower right. - In very fine, fresh condition. Spies/Metken 3103 Provenance Edouard Loeb, Paris; Walter Scharf, Berlin; Galerie Wilhelm Grosshennig, Düsseldorf; Galerie Norbert Blaeser, Düsseldorf; Collection Dr. Peter Schneppenheim, Cologne; on permanent loan to the Max-Ernst-Museum Brühl until early 2024 Exhibitions Lübeck 1966 (Overbeck Society), Contrasts. Four possibilities of the artistic: Josef Albers, Karel Appel, Max Ernst, Robert Rauschenberg, Cat. No. 22; Düsseldorf 1968 (Galerie Wilhelm Grosshennig), Ausstellung deutscher und französischer Meisterwerke des 20. Jahrhunderts: Gemälde, Plastik, Aquarelle, Handzeichnungen, no illus.; Düsseldorf 1976 (Galerie Wilhelm Grosshennig), Ausstellung ausgewählter deutscher und französischer Kunstwerke des 20. Jahrhunderts, with color illus. p. 11; Berlin/Munich 1999 (Nationalgalerie/Haus der Kunst), Max Ernst - Die Retrospektive, Cat. No. 165, with color illus.; Brühl 2009 (Max Ernst Museum of the LVR), Max Ernst. Schausammlung im Wechsel VI, no cat.; Brühl 2013 (Max Ernst Museum des LVR), Das 20. Jahrhundert - Werke von Max Ernst aus der Schneppenheim-Stiftung, p. 94/95 with color illus., p. 167 f.; Brühl 2023/2024 (Max Ernst Museum des LVR), Surreal futures, p. 179 with color illus. Literature Die Weltkunst, LII. Jg., Nr. 23, Munich 1.12.1982, color illus. p. 3433 The Peter Schneppenheim Collection With six works by Max Ernst, three paintings, a sculpture (lots 32-35) and two works on paper (lots 211, 212, auction 1248, June 5, 2024), selected works from one of the most important and extensive collections of the Franco-German artist - the Schneppenheim Collection - will be offered for sale. The initiator of this collection was the Cologne physician Dr. Peter Schneppenheim (1926-2021), who had collected the works over decades on the national and international art market. The collector's persistent and constructive commitment also led to the founding of the Max Ernst Museum in his home town of Brühl in 2005. His extensive collection of graphic works, illustrated books and selected paintings formed the basis of this unique artists' museum. Peter Schneppenheim was head physician at the Heilig-Geist-Krankenhaus in Cologne-Longerich for almost two decades. He found balance and fulfillment both in music and in art, particularly in the works of the painter, graphic artist and sculptor Max Ernst, who was born in Brühl in 1891 and whose work he had often encountered in Brühl and Cologne. One of the first works that he had consciously noticed, and which immediately made him smile, was the collage "C'est le chapeau qui fait l'homme" from 1920. However, the key experience for the acquisition of his works was the first renowned German retrospective in 1951 at Augustusburg Castle in Brühl. Schneppenheim was immediately fascinated by the variety of pictorial themes and techniques: "In my enthusiasm for the unusual, previously unseen works of art, probably also euphorically inspired after having just passed my state examination, I had the idea of acquiring paintings by this artist myself - initially a daring pipe dream on the salary of a young medical assistant, until I was able to produce my first works on paper." (quoted from: Max Ernst. Graphische Welten, exhib. cat. Brühl 2004, p. 10). Schneppenheim's initial enthusiasm for Max Ernst did not wane - on the contrary, his increasing preoccupation with his life and work, his innovative pictorial techniques and literary horizon led over time to systematic purchases with the aim of covering his graphic oeuvre as completely as possible. The purchase of predominantly graphic works was - at least initially - a conscious decision. From the outset, Schneppenheim demonstrated an impressive eye for quality and uniqueness and selected Ernst's central works on paper. In 1968, he also decided to purchase an oil painting for the first time and acquired the landscape "Les antipodes du paysage" (lot 34), which is being offered here, through the renowned gallery owner Fritz Valentien in Stuttgart, who specialized in Max Ernst. This painting is also significant because it formed the starting point for the collection's thematic focus on landscapes. A special event in the 1970s was Schneppenheim's personal meeting with Max Ernst and his wife Dorothea Tanning on the occasion of a Rhine trip in 1971, which the Cologne gallery owners Hein and Eva Stünke had organized for the artist and his clients. Until Max Ernst's death on April 1, 1976, the collection was expanded with substantial works. A highlight for Schneppenheim was the first