Max Ernst
Max Ernst was a German-born painter associated with Dada and Surrealism, known for uncanny scenes, collage, frottage, and scraped paint textures.
Painter
Kurt Schwitters
Kurt Schwitters was a German Dada-associated artist who developed Merz collages from discarded papers and objects, often mixed with oil and watercolor.
Kurt Schwitters quick facts
Schwitters called his personal practice Merz, combining found material with painting, collage, assemblage, poetry, and graphic design across media.
| Full name | Curt Hermann Eduard Carl Julius Schwitters |
|---|---|
| Born | 1887 · Hanover, German Empire (now Germany) |
| Died | 1948 · Kendal, England |
| Nationality | German |
| Movements | Dada (associated); Merz |
| Paint types | Oil Paint · Watercolor Paint · Gouache Paint |
| Other media | Collage · assemblage · sculpture · typography · poetry |
| Other materials | Metal, cord, wool, leather, and scraps joined to an oil-painted canvas in Revolving |
| Painting surfaces | Canvas · Paper · Cardboard |
| Painting methods | Layering colored and printed fragments, attaching salvaged materials, painting with oil on reliefs and paperboard, and adding watercolor or gouache to collage |
| Common subjects | Abstract paper fragments, letters, tickets, geometric shapes, found objects, reliefs, and everyday waste |
| Notable works | Picture with Light Center · Revolving · N Watercolor 1 (The Heart Goes from Sugar to Coffee) · Mz 26, 48. Berlin |
Sources: MoMA: Kurt Schwitters collection, MoMA: Revolving, oil and materials on canvas, MoMA: Picture with Light Center, oil and papers on paperboard, MoMA: N Watercolor 1, watercolor on paper, MoMA: Mz 26, 48. Berlin, gouache and papers on paper, and MoMA: Merz and Schwitters’ collage and assemblage.
Paint types used by Kurt Schwitters
Kurt Schwitters used Oil paint, Watercolor paint, Gouache paint; examples below link these media to named works and explain their role in image-making.
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Oil paint
MoMA records Revolving (1919) as oil on canvas, combined with wood, metal, cord, cardboard, wool, wire, and leather. Schwitters’s attached fragments turn the support into a relief-like construction; those found objects are separate materials, not types of paint. The painting documents how oil participates in his broader Merz practice.
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Watercolor paint
Schwitters used watercolor in works on paper, including N Watercolor 1 (The Heart Goes from Sugar to Coffee) (1919), cataloged with pencil on paper mounted on board. The compact composition places transparent painted marks beside drawn lines, separate from his oil-and-object assemblages on canvas.
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Gouache paint
In Mz 26, 48. Berlin, Schwitters combined gouache with paper fragments on paper. The opaque paint remains distinct from the collage elements, which add texture and printed imagery to the sheet. This work documents gouache as part of his painted collage practice.
Sources: MoMA: Revolving (1919), oil on canvas with attached materials; MoMA: N Watercolor 1 (1919), watercolor on paper on board; MoMA: Mz 26, 48. Berlin, gouache and papers on paper.
Painting surfaces used by Kurt Schwitters
Kurt Schwitters's documented works use canvas, paper, cardboard; examples distinguish the painted surface from its support or object in each cited work.
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Canvas
Schwitters used canvas in paintings and assemblages, including MoMA’s Revolving (1919). The work combines an oil-painted surface with attached wood, metal, cord, and other found materials, so the canvas carries a constructed relief rather than a flat image alone. The museum catalog names this support explicitly.
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Paper
Schwitters used paper for watercolor drawings and collages, including N Watercolor 1 and Mz 26, 48. Berlin. Some sheets are mounted on board, while others incorporate paper fragments; these works distinguish the painted paper support from canvas-based assemblages. The paper remains visible in the collaged surface.
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Cardboard
Schwitters’s Merz collages and assemblages use cardboard and paperboard both as supports and as attached material. The cut pieces preserve fragments of ordinary printed packaging, transforming them into a composition; this differs from the canvas support of Revolving. The found material remains part of the final construction.
Sources: MoMA: Kurt Schwitters collection, MoMA: Revolving, oil and materials on canvas, MoMA: Picture with Light Center, oil and papers on paperboard, MoMA: N Watercolor 1, watercolor on paper, MoMA: Mz 26, 48. Berlin, gouache and papers on paper.
Painters similar to Kurt Schwitters
Ernst shared Schwitters's experimental collage practice, while Höch reassembled published imagery; all three challenged conventional picture-making.
Hannah Höch
Hannah Höch was a German Dada artist who pioneered critical photomontage and combined printed imagery with watercolor, gouache, and painted abstraction.