Max Ernst was born in Germany. In 1909 he studied Philosophy and Psychology but he showed a greater inclination towards painting and he started to exhibit in group shows. In 1914 Ernst was drafted to the military and spent four years fighting. This was to have a lasting effect on his work, particularly through his depiction of the absurdities of war. On returning to Germany, Ernst became a leader of the Dada movement in Cologne, before settling in Paris as a founding member of the Surrealist movement. He was a pioneer of the frottage technique whereby paper is placed over a rough substance and rubbed over with pencil to obtain the textured quality of the surface beneath. This ‘art of the subconscious’ paved the way for new generations of artists.