Au 125 du boulevard Saint-Germain

late autumn 1921

Paul and Gala Éluard in Cologne

In late autumn 1921 Paul and Gala Éluard visited Ernst in Cologne: he and Éluard became firm friends and Gala posed for him. Éluard bought the artist’s most finished canvas, Celebes, and chose a dozen collages to illustrate his collection Répétitions.

May 1921

A first solo show in Paris, without the artist

In May 1921 a solo exhibition of Ernst’s work opened in Paris at André Breton’s invitation, with a catalogue prefaced by Breton and a Dada performance at the opening. Ernst himself could not come, since he was refused a French visa; the show had a great resonance but brought him no personal gain.

late summer 1922

To Paris illegally on Éluard’s passport

At the end of summer 1922 Ernst saw his wife and son off to Cologne and left for Paris; lacking a French visa, he used Paul Éluard’s passport. For a year and a half he lived with the Éluards at Saint-Brice and then at Eaubonne, an illegal immigrant making ends meet with odd jobs.

summer 1922

A love triangle with the Éluards

Ernst spent the summer of 1922 at Tarrenz, mostly at the Éluards’ villa; Gala became his lover and a ménage à trois began.

1922

“Les malheurs des immortels” with Éluard

Éluard’s Répétitions appeared in March 1922, and the poet handed Ernst his copy in person at Düsseldorf. Together they wrote the little book Les malheurs des immortels, prose poems based on Ernst’s collages, published in a small edition at Tarrenz, where both spent the summer with their wives.

1924

To Saigon after the Éluards

In March 1924 Paul Éluard abruptly left for Monaco and then for Vietnam. To raise the fare Ernst sold paintings to the gallery owner Johanna Ey; he met Éluard and Gala in Singapore and Saigon, but Gala stayed with Paul. Ernst went on exploring South-East Asia for several more months.