Provenance
Sold by Holland-Goldowsky Gallery, Inc., Chicago, to Lindy and Edwin Bergman, Chicago, 1958; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2018.
Accession Number
118692
Medium
Colored crayons on orange wove paper
Dimensions
45.5 × 35.5 cm (17 15/16 × 14 in.)
Classification
drawings (visual works)
Credit Line
Lindy and Edwin Bergman Collection
Background & Context
Background Story
Max Ernst's Untitled (The Bird People) (1942) is a colored crayons drawing on orange wove paper. The title The Bird People suggests hybrid creatures combining human and avian features, a typical subject for Ernst's surrealist imagination. The colored crayon technique on orange paper creates a vivid, luminous effect. The orange ground gives the entire composition a warm, glowing quality.
Cultural Impact
Ernst's bird-people hybrids reflect his fascination with the transformation of forms and the boundaries between species.
Why It Matters
This drawing of bird people on orange paper combines human and avian features in a vivid, luminous composition.
