The artwork, entitled “Cormorants,” was created by Max Ernst in 1920 in Cologne (Cöln/Köln), Germany. This piece employs the medium of collage on paper and belongs to the Dada art movement, categorizing it within the genre of symbolic painting.
The artwork features a surreal assemblage of various elements intricately arranged in a dreamlike scene. In the upper portion of the composition, abstract forms and fragmented shapes dominate the space. The lower section of the artwork is populated by several cormorants, as suggested by the title, depicted in a line, suggestive of a surreal and imaginative narrative. The juxtaposition of these disparate elements creates a complex visual tableau, embodying the typical Dadaist approach to art characterized by its embrace of the unexpected and the irrational. The interplay of mechanical and organic forms hints at deeper symbolic meanings, possibly reflective of the chaotic and transformative period during which the artwork was created.
