Plate III from Let There Be Fashion, Down With Art (Fiat modes pereat ars)

Plate III from Let There Be Fashion, Down With Art (Fiat modes pereat ars) is a pivotal early Dada work by Max Ernst, created in 1920. This piece is one of eight highly influential lithographs comprising the complete portfolio, which Ernst produced during a period of intense creative output in the immediate aftermath of World War I. Classified formally as a print, the work demonstrates the artist's engagement with the techniques of mechanical reproduction and montage, central to the anti-art movement taking shape in French culture.

The provocative title of the series, translating roughly to “Let there be fashion, down with art,” establishes the portfolio’s satirical intent. It encapsulates the aggressive, often cynical stance taken by Ernst and his Dada contemporaries against the perceived moral bankruptcy and outmoded aesthetic conventions of the pre-war artistic establishment. Ernst employed the stark, graphic potential of the lithograph to realize jarring compositions, typically utilizing fragmented imagery derived from scientific manuals, industrial catalogs, and commercial illustrations.

While specific visual analysis of the subject matter of this individual plate would require closer examination, the overall series challenged the viewer by presenting absurdist juxtapositions of human and machine forms, effectively satirizing the mechanization of modern life and the commodification of culture. Ernst used these visual shocks to argue that frivolous elements, like fashion, had superseded serious artistic inquiry.

This seminal portfolio from 1920 serves as a crucial bridge between the disruptive nihilism of Dada and the emerging psychological explorations of Surrealism. The work is a key historical artifact, providing insight into the European avant-garde of the era. This edition is preserved within the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.