The artwork, titled “Illustration to ‘A Week of Kindness,'” is a collage on paper created by Max Ernst in 1934 in Paris, France. This piece belongs to the Surrealism art movement and is part of the series “A Week of Kindness.” The work measures 18 x 13 cm and is classified within the illustration genre. The artwork is currently held at the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart in Stuttgart, Germany.
The artwork presents a surreal tableau, juxtaposing elements from conventional, bourgeois interiors with fantastical and unnerving insertions typical of Surrealist imaginative exploration. The central scene includes four figures, with two prominently placed men, one in traditional attire and the other in a suit, appearing to be engaged in a solemn or reflective activity. A woman kneels on the floor, her attention fixed on small, whimsical creatures resembling dragons. The furniture and décor suggest a 19th-century European setting, including a large framed image of a man in a pensive pose within the room, possibly indicating an additional layer of introspection or a play on perception. The composition’s intricacies and contrasts embody the characteristic disruption of reality seen in Surrealist works.
