Janus Bird (Oiseau Janus) / Max Ernst
About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1987/1.160
- Title
- Janus Bird (Oiseau Janus)
- Artist
- Max Ernst
- Artist Nationality
- German
- Artist Life Dates
- 1891-1976
- Medium and Support
- bronze
- Object Creation Date
- 1973
- Object Creation Place
- Europe (continent)
- France (nation)
- Creation Place 1
- Europe (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- France (nation)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Al and Margaret Coudron
- Style/Group/Movement
- Surrealist
- Inscription
- Inscribed on base below frog: max ernst Foundry mark (within diamond) on base below signature: CIRE/A. VALSUANI/PERDUE 12/18
- Dimensions
- 43 cm x 22.5 cm x 21.3 cm (16 15/16 in. x 8 7/8 in. x 8 3/8 in.)
- Century
- 20th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Sculpture
- Primary Object Type
- figure
- Physical Description
- Standing bronze figure with recto/verso. The silhouette of the body is rectangular in shape. The heads on both side are simply rendered with rounded eyes and a pursed -lip mouth on one, a button nose on the other; bodies are supported by short legs; sides loosely suggest representations of male and female anatomy with side-by-side scallop shells suggesting a breasted chest on one side, an upward facing frog/toad in the phallus area on the reverse side.
- Subject Matter
- This figurine with its primitivist style and use of animal iconography suggests a ritual totemic figure. One side represents man. The other side represents woman. Title references the Roman god Janus the god of doorways, and thus of beginnings and endings, or of the point in time between past and future. Janus was depicted as having two faces, so he could look simultaneously forward and backward
- Primary Keywords
- birds
- bronze (metal)
- ducks
- figures (representations)
- frogs
- sculpture
- shells
- surrealism
- surrealist
- turtles
- Secondary Keywords
- amphibians
- animals
- animals and creatures
- combination inorganic/organic animal material
- combination inorganic/organic material
- copper alloy
- copper and copper alloy
- descriptors
- european
- european styles and periods
- inorganic material
- materials
- materials by composition
- metal
- metal and metal products
- metal by composition or origin
- modern and contemporary art
- modern european fine arts styles and movements
- modern european styles and movements
- movement
- nonferrous metal
- objects we use
- people and culture
- reptiles
- reptiles and amphibians
- shell and shell material
- styles and periods
- styles and periods by region
- the natural world
- visual works
- visual works by medium or technique
- visual works by subject type
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 560 x 1128
- File Size
- 34 KB
- Record
- 1987/1.160
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1987-sl-1.160/1987_1.160vw1.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
Cite this Item
View the Help Guide for more information.
- Full citation
-
"Janus Bird (Oiseau Janus); Max Ernst." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1987-sl-1.160/1987_1.160vw1.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 24, 2024.
