Max Ernst painted The Barbarians, a 1937 Surrealist work featuring monumental hybrid figures.
Ernst was a German-born artist who became a major figure in both Dada and Surrealism. He often combined dreamlike creatures, geological settings, and mechanically or organically transformed bodies to create scenes that feel like fragments of an unknown mythology.
The Barbarians belongs to the period when Ernst’s imagery increasingly reflected political anxiety and the threat of authoritarian violence in Europe. Its simplified, imposing forms are not ordinary historical warriors; they are invented beings whose scale and posture make them seem both ancient and menacing.
Ernst is also closely associated with experimental techniques such as frottage and grattage, but this question concerns his authorship of a painting, not a technique. The work should not be confused with similarly titled pieces by other modern artists.