The Repast of Death (Le Repas du mort) from Natural History (Histoire naturelle)

The Repast of Death (Le Repas du mort) from Natural History (Histoire naturelle) is a significant print by Max Ernst, created around c. 1925 and officially published in 1926. This work forms part of a seminal portfolio of thirty-four images, all based on the experimental technique known as frottage, which the artist had recently invented. The classification of the work is a print, specifically a collotype, which is a high-quality, photomechanical method used to faithfully reproduce the fine textures inherent in the original rubbing.

Ernst developed frottage as a method of automatic drawing, involving the systematic rubbing of a pencil or other instrument over paper placed on textured surfaces, such as wood grain, leaves, or netting. This process yielded randomized, abstract patterns that the Surrealist artist then mentally transformed and refined into recognizable or biomorphic scenes. By translating these organic rubbings into the stable, reproducible medium of the collotype, Ernst ensured that his revolutionary visual explorations could be widely disseminated.

The overall portfolio, Histoire naturelle, aimed to subvert traditional scientific documentation by generating an alternative natural world—one populated by uncanny, subconscious flora and fauna that reflected the anxieties and innovations of the French Surrealist movement. In this particular piece, the abstract patterns merge to suggest a morbid or metamorphic event, prompting interpretation through its evocative title, The Repast of Death. The composition utilizes sharp contrast and delicate tonal variation inherent in the collotype medium, enhancing the strange, dreamlike quality of the image.

The production date of c. 1925, published 1926, positions this portfolio at a pivotal moment in the development of 20th-century conceptual art and printmaking. This print, illustrating Ernst’s innovative approach to graphic arts and his commitment to chance operations, is recognized as a key work of the period and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).