HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Loading...

Une Semaine De Bonte: A Surrealistic Novel in Collage (1934)

by Max Ernst

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
610938,179 (4.36)6
"One of the clandestine classics of our century." -- The New York TimesThis is the legendary collage masterpieces of Max Ernst (b. 1891), one of the leading figures of the surrealistic movement and among the most original artists of the 20th century. From old catalog and pulp novel illustrations, Ernst produced this series of 182 bizarre and darkly humorous collage scenes of classic dreams and erotic fantasies which seem mysteriously to lure the unconscious into view: Stern, proper-looking women sprout giant sets of wings, serpents appear in the drawing -room and bed chamber, a baron has the head of a lion, a parlor floor turns to water on which some people can apparently walk while others drown. Une Semaine De Bonté is divided into seven parts, one for each day of the week, with each section illustrating one of Ernst's "seven deadly elements." "Oedipus," "The Court of the Dragon," and "Three Visible Poems" are among the startling episodes of Ernst's week. The Dada and surrealist epigraphs which introduce each section appear in this edition in both French and English. Une Semaine De Bonté first appeared in 1934 in a series of five pamphlets of fewer than 1,000 copies each, and has never been reprinted before this present edition. Previously available only to a few libraries and collectors, this is a major source and great treat for anyone interested in the surrealists and their work, in collage, visual illusion, dream visions, and the interpretations of dreams.… (more)
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 6 mentions

English (8)  Italian (1)  All languages (9)
Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)
Just the idea of a "Surrealistic Novel in Collage" is enuf for me. Add Ernst's delicate touch & it's even better. Ultimately, though, I have to admit to getting a little bored by the technical uniformity of the prints used - even w/ Ernst's careful recycling. ( )
  tENTATIVELY | Apr 3, 2022 |
This work is pure genius!

Max Ernst put together this artist's book using cutouts from various woodcut illustration sources. This is before the days of Adobe Photoshop, yet it looks utterly flawless in its technical execution.

The images of this book are so weird yet captivating and hard to classify. Each chapter of the book follows a day of the week and some sort of theme (mud, water, fire, etc) in the images. What do these images mean? Nobody can give a precise answer and that is part of the appeal of this book.

Also take heed - this can be considered an early graphic novel. Yes, it can be hard to decipher, but these images are clearly meant to be read in sequence.

Overall, Une Semaine De Bonte is quite a creation. Its enigmatic meaning is part of its appeal. ( )
1 vote maxwestart | Aug 13, 2013 |
Darkly comic, with all the visual lyricism of Ernst's exhibited collage works and a large dose of macabre exuberance. The use of altered complete images and similar source material makes the pictures feel more like complete images in themselves than collage, to great uncanny effect. It also transforms the whole into a satire of the equivocal, quotidian attitude to violence and death in popular culture.

The book comes into it's own in the partial and overlapping narratives, the pictures force interpretation on the reader, but the strands of detail and apparent continuities combine and flow in dozens of different ways, loading the mute images to bursting point with different narratives competing for prominence. Is there one lion of belfort, or does the leonine face and medal take over the violent and prideful, are the pictures in the house in the court of the dragon (assuming it's the same house) prophesy the future or has this all happened before? Does is this face twisted in shock or anger? Is this figure a woman languishing in orgasmic bliss or a staring corpse? The images play beautifully between self-consistency that demands explanation and evanescent phantasmagoria that render it impossible. ( )
1 vote Raveningdesk | Sep 5, 2012 |
Sky bought this for me a few weeks ago - lovely Surrealist collage story by Max Ernst ( )
  jentifer | Aug 15, 2009 |
At the end of the day, Une Semaine De Bonte is a bit disappointing, as most of the collage pieces herein appear to be minor modifications of the original printed source material that Ernst drew on for his own creations. The ideas are occasionally interesting, but the execution is rough and just plain silly at times. Even granted the technological limitations that Ernst was working with, the ultimate results just aren't that impressive, and show little of the complex visual narratives that he so successfully incorporated into his paintings. The saving graces of this volume are the Second and Third "Visible Poems", which are visually arresting in spite of their short length. If the entire project had been up to the same standard, the work as a whole would be entirely more compelling than it actually is. ( )
1 vote dr_zirk | Jan 13, 2008 |
Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review

» Add other authors (4 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Max Ernstprimary authorall editionscalculated
Spies, WernerEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

"One of the clandestine classics of our century." -- The New York TimesThis is the legendary collage masterpieces of Max Ernst (b. 1891), one of the leading figures of the surrealistic movement and among the most original artists of the 20th century. From old catalog and pulp novel illustrations, Ernst produced this series of 182 bizarre and darkly humorous collage scenes of classic dreams and erotic fantasies which seem mysteriously to lure the unconscious into view: Stern, proper-looking women sprout giant sets of wings, serpents appear in the drawing -room and bed chamber, a baron has the head of a lion, a parlor floor turns to water on which some people can apparently walk while others drown. Une Semaine De Bonté is divided into seven parts, one for each day of the week, with each section illustrating one of Ernst's "seven deadly elements." "Oedipus," "The Court of the Dragon," and "Three Visible Poems" are among the startling episodes of Ernst's week. The Dada and surrealist epigraphs which introduce each section appear in this edition in both French and English. Une Semaine De Bonté first appeared in 1934 in a series of five pamphlets of fewer than 1,000 copies each, and has never been reprinted before this present edition. Previously available only to a few libraries and collectors, this is a major source and great treat for anyone interested in the surrealists and their work, in collage, visual illusion, dream visions, and the interpretations of dreams.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (4.36)
0.5
1
1.5 1
2 3
2.5
3 9
3.5 3
4 26
4.5 3
5 52

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 202,661,576 books! | Top bar: Always visible