Tickets

Max Ernst, Stealer of Marks

06.12.2018 to 28.04.2019
Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg

In 1964 cryptographic writing appears in Max Ernst’s work for the first time, a code he created for a series of prints dedicated to the amateur astronomer Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel (1821–1889). It recalls early Surrealist experiments with écriture automatique (automatic writing) and at the same time suggests startling com­parisons with Egyptian hieroglyphs, such as those found on the Kalabsha Gate at the entrance to the Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg. The famous temple gate, a remnant of the building’s former use by the Egyptian Collection, will move to the Museum Island upon completion of the final wing of the Pergamonmuseum.

The Surrealists loved chance. Is it not thus perfectly fitting to seize upon the chance pres­ence of the Egyptian gate to hold a Max Ernst exhibition around it? Taking the rarely seen cryptographic works as a starting point, the exhibition throws light on several typical ele­ments and themes in Max Ernst’s oeuvre. Not a few of them are bor­rowed: they trace a path through the history of art and visual culture, partly as far back as Ancient Egypt. Indeed, the images and marks that appear in Max Ernst’s work in collage, frottage and grattage were seldom of his own invention. Carefully covering his tracks and acting with a thief’s delight, Ernst appropriated them from a visual repertoire that already existed, only to invest them with new, clandestine and surreal messages.

Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg
© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Maximilian Meisse

Schloßstraße 70
14059 Berlin

wheelchair accessible

U-Bahn: Sophie-Charlotte-Platz, Richard-Wagner-Platz
S-Bahn: Westend
Bus: Schloss Charlottenburg, Luisenplatz / Schloss Charlottenburg

Sun 11:00 - 18:00
Mon closed
Tue closed
Wed 11:00 - 18:00
Thu 11:00 - 18:00
Fri 11:00 - 18:00
Sat 11:00 - 18:00

Special opening hours during public holidays

Museum Berggruen + Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg
10,00 EUR Concessions 5,00
+ Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg


Annual membership Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

from just 25,00 EUR

Annual Passes for the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Tel 030 - 266 42 42 42 (Mon - Fri, 9 am - 4 pm)
Questions | Bookings | Feedback