The artwork is named “Barbarians” and was created by the artist Max Ernst in 1937 in Paris, France. It was executed in oil on cardboard and belongs to the Surrealism art movement. The dimensions of the artwork are 24 by 33 centimeters, and it falls within the genre of symbolic painting.
In the artwork, there are two large, menacing figures depicted in a haunting, almost otherworldly manner. Their heavily contoured forms appear to be engaged in a tumultuous and dramatic interaction. The figure on the left is shaded in dark hues, holding an abstract, distorted shape, while the figure on the right, bedecked in a variety of grotesque and fantastical elements, seems poised mid-motion, perhaps in confrontation. The background consists of an unsettling blend of earth tones and surreal imagery, amplifying the tension and dynamic between the central figures. The overall composition evokes a dream-like, mysterious atmosphere, characteristic of Surrealist art, inviting viewers to delve into the symbolic and abstract meanings contained within.
