Dadaville
- Artist: Max Ernst
- Date: c.1924
- Medium: Painted plaster and cork on canvas
- Dimensions: unconfirmed: 680 x 560 x 63 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is “Dadaville” by Max Ernst. Painted in 1924, it’s a relief made mainly of painted plaster and cork mounted on canvas. The whole surface looks like a miniature cityscape: the cork strips rise like skyscrapers, their corners carved into raised blocks that give the piece a three‑dimensional feel. Ernst was playing with material at a very time‑of‑transition moment, after Cologne Dada circles and before he settled in Paris’ Surrealist circle.
The cork is rough, almost like wood pulp, giving texture to each “building.” The city looks alive – the vertical strips suggest windows or towers, and the base of the canvas suggests ground level. In this way Ernst turns a flat panel into a playful little town.
You’ll notice that some cork panels are missing or crumbled; in early photographs they were more regular, with four rows of button‑like corks along each strip. That loss adds to its spontaneous look, exactly like a Dada city that pops up and dissolves in the same instant.
See it in person
Dadaville is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
