The Elephants
1948 · Private collection
Two elephants carrying obelisks on legs far too spindly to hold them, which is the entire effect and it works.
★ 4.8
The Art canon
Sourced and hung.
Every work chosen by hand and annotated for why it matters.
Browse all 704 works or filter by movement, subject, place, and artist.
Browse all 704 works or filter by movement, subject, place, and artist.
Swans Reflecting Elephants
1937 · Private collection
Three swans on a lake, and in the reflection the necks have become trunks and the trees have become legs.
★ 6.1
The Temptation of Saint Anthony (Dali)
1946 · Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels
Elephants on impossibly long insect legs carry obelisks and naked women across the plain while the saint holds up a makeshift cross.
★ 6.3
The Elephant Celebes
1921 · Tate Modern, London
Part boiler, part elephant, with a tusked hose coming out of its head. Ernst took the shape from a photograph of an African grain bin.
★ 7.2