Thread by @RobertBohan

Thread: Edgar Ende (1901-65) was a German Surrealist who is barely known outside that country but unlike many of the surrealists actually painted from his subconscious rather than carefully creating fabricated imaginings. Thus his work has authenticity & is mesmerising

He was born near Hamburg & studied at the Altona School of Arts & Crafts (1916-20). Sketch (1925), Mit dem Pfeil (1928), The Storm (1930) & Untitled (1931)

In the 1930s his unique vision began to be recognised. Unfortunately for him Nazis, with their reactionary views, were on the rise. He was designated a degenerate artist & forbidden to paint (1936) Within Balls (1932), With the Birds (1932), Burning Flag (1934) & Eagle (1932)

Ende’s images are challenging to decipher as they give us a window to the artist’s psyche. Under the Console (1933), Three Wanderers (1933), The Sleepers (1933) & the Bark (1933)

There is a free floating spirituality to his work. Each painting has a profound charisma. Water Crisis (1933), The Encounter (1935), With the Arrow (1935) & The Bridge (1936)

Winter is one of my favourite paintings. It seems to show a long lost myth, half-remembered. Am Ufer (1937), Winter (1938), Das Relief auf dem Felsen (1936)

He was conscripted in 1940. Disastrously for us much of his work was destroyed in 1944. Die Kosmische Strickerin (1948) & The Image of Man (1947)

There is a balletic form to his surrealism that suggests a subconscious deeply involved with unravelling his psychic vision. The Wall (1948), The Dancer (1948), The Angel with the Fish (1948) & the Captive (1948)

Ende met the French Surrealist Breton in 1951. The latter declared Ende an official Surrealist. This is remarkable as Breton was unable to excavate his subconscious in the way Ende could! Icarus (1955), Die Straßenbahnführer (1951), The Foot (1952) & the Forbidden Fruit (1951)

One of his greatest works was the eagle. The painting has a monumental & otherworldly logic. Watchtower (1951), Eagle which Extinguishes the Light (1953) & Personnage (1953)

Towards the end of his life his palettte became much more colourful - although the mysterious atmosphere survives. Der Rätselhafte Herr (1960), The Fallen Trees (1963), The Sick Horse (1963) & the Lion Rider (1964)

Mythological ideas, birds & naked figures all peopled the artist’s work. The New Bucephalus (1961), Airship (1963), Shakespeare II (1962) & Shadow of the Birds (1962)

He died in 1965. Aurora (1965), Angel leading a Horse (1964), Die Dornenmänner (1964) & Figure (nd). His oeuvre has some of the greatest Surrealism in that it has an authentic subconscious origin - a feature that is lacking in work by the well known Breton & Dali. Fascinating!