The artwork, titled “A little sick horse’s leg,” was created in 1920 by Max Ernst in Cologne, Germany. This piece, which falls under the art movement known as Surrealism, is a collage and gouache on paper, measuring 16 by 23 centimeters. It is currently housed at the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art (GAM) in Turin, Italy. The artwork is categorized as a symbolic painting.
The artwork exhibits surrealistic and symbolic imagery through a collage composition. Dominating the piece are elements resembling skeletal structures and mechanical parts, evocatively fused together. The forms in the artwork are abstract, merging organic and mechanical features, contributing to a disquieting yet intriguing visual experience. Among the more discernible components in the artwork are representations which might suggest a bird and other fragmented, possibly anatomical elements. The palette and technique reinforce the surrealist ethos, revealing a sophisticated and nuanced interplay of form and meaning characteristic of Max Ernst’s work during this period.
