Une Semaine de Bonte

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An image from Max Ernst's, Une Semaine de Bonte 1934 etching

Une Semaine de Bonte (A Week of Kindness) is a collage novel by Max Ernst made during a three week visit in Italy, around the time of Hitler's rise to power in Germany. The novel was first published in 1934, as a series of five pamphlets of less than 1,000 copies each.

The novel consists of found images from Victorian encyclopedias and novels, cut up and re-organized into 182 montages which represent a kind of dark, surreal world. One such image includes a series of bird-men fleeing an unidentified terror, a giant hand reaching out of a window above.

The progressive rock band The Mars Volta have used one of the images from "Une Semaine" on their t-shirts and as a backdrop when they play live since 2005.

Also the band Alkaline Trio used one of the images from "Une Semaine" on a poster.