Max Ernst - La Ballade du Soldat

Printed in 1972, 'The Ballad of the Soldier' was a unique collaboration between the artist and the poet Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes. The resulting book, portions of which are reproduced here, is a lyrically imaginative attack on the role of the soldier in society. Alongside the often aggressively satirical text ("Soldier Nothingness? Present!") Ernst provides strange and wonderful illustrations in the grand Surrealist tradition; comprising outlandish fancy in the main part, but always tethered somehow to the text at hand – a tricky balancing act, but one that is well suited to the poet's unorthodox style. The lithographs vary hugely in quality, and are most interesting when one can't quite make out what has been printed – another layer of compelling obscurantism on top of Ernst's already freakish conglomerations. Once again the Dean should congratulate itself for another fine investigation of the relationship between literature and fine art. [Jay Shukla]