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André Breton

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For the Quebec-born singer, seeAndré Breton (singer).For the French publisher, seeAndré le Breton.
André Breton
André Breton
Breton in 1924
BornAndré Robert Breton
(1896-02-19)19 February 1896
Tinchebray,France
Died28 September 1966(1966-09-28)(aged 70)
Paris,France
OccupationWriter
Period20th century
Genrepoetry, essays, novels, aesthetics
Literary movementSurrealism
Notable works
Spouse
Simone Kahn
​
​
(m.1921;div.1931)​
​
​
(m.1934;div.1943)​
​
​
(m.1945⁠–⁠1966)​
Children1
Signature

André Robert Breton(French:[ɑ̃dʁeʁɔbɛʁbʁətɔ̃];19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist ofsurrealism.[1]His writings include the firstSurrealist Manifesto(Manifeste du surréalisme) of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism".[2]

Along with his role as leader of the surrealist movement he is the author of celebrated books such asNadjaandL'Amour fou.Those activities, combined with his critical and theoretical work on writing and the plastic arts, made André Breton a major figure in twentieth-century French art and literature.

Biography

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André Breton was the only son born to a family of modest means inTinchebray(Orne) inNormandy,France. His father, Louis-Justin Breton, was a policeman andatheist,and his mother, Marguerite-Marie-Eugénie Le Gouguès, was a former seamstress. Breton attended medical school, where he developed a particular interest inmental illness.[3]His education was interrupted when he wasconscripted for World War I.[3]

DuringWorld War I,he worked in a neurological ward inNantes,where he met theAlfred JarrydevoteeJacques Vaché,whose anti-social attitude and disdain for established artistic tradition influenced Breton considerably.[4]Vaché committedsuicidewhen aged 23, and his war-time letters to Breton and others were published in a volume entitledLettres de guerre(1919), for which Breton wrote four introductory essays.[5]

Breton married his first wife, Simone Kahn, on 15 September 1921. The couple relocated to rue FontaineNo.42 inParison 1 January 1922. The apartment on rue Fontaine (in thePigalledistrict) became home to Breton's collection of more than 5,300 items: modern paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, books, art catalogs, journals, manuscripts, and works of popular and Oceanic art. Like his father, he was an atheist.[6][7][8][9]

From Dada to Surrealism

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Breton launched the reviewLittératurein 1919, withLouis AragonandPhilippe Soupault.[10]He also associated withDadaistTristan Tzara.[11]

InLes Champs Magnétiques[12](The Magnetic Fields), a collaboration with Soupault, he implemented the principle ofautomatic writing.With the publication of hisSurrealist Manifestoin 1924 came the founding of the magazineLa Révolution surréalisteand theBureau of Surrealist Research.[13]A group of writers became associated with him: Soupault,Louis Aragon,Paul Éluard,René Crevel,Michel Leiris,Benjamin Péret,Antonin Artaud,andRobert Desnos.

Eager to combine the themes of personal transformation found in the works ofArthur Rimbaudwith the politics ofKarl Marx,Breton and others joined theFrench Communist Partyin 1927, from which he was expelled in 1933.Nadja,a novel about his imaginative encounter with a woman who later becomes mentally ill, was published in 1928. Due to theeconomic depression,he had to sell his art collection and rebuilt it later.[14][15]

In December 1929, Breton published theSecond manifeste du surréalisme(Second manifesto of surrealism), which contained an oft-quoted declaration for which many, includingAlbert Camus,reproached Breton: "The simplest surrealist act consists, with revolvers in hand, of descending into the street and shooting at random, as much as possible, into the crowd".[16][17]

In reaction to theSecond manifesto,writers and artists published in 1930 a collective collection of pamphlets against Breton, entitled (in allusion to an earlier title by Breton)Un Cadavre.The authors were members of the surrealist movement who were insulted by Breton or had otherwise opposed his leadership.[18]: 299–302 The pamphlet criticized Breton's oversight and influence over the movement. It marked a divide amidst the early surrealists.Georges LimbourandGeorges Ribemont-Dessaignescommented on the sentence where shooting at random in the crowd is described as the simplest surrealist act. Limbour saw in it an example of buffoonery and shamelessness and Ribemont-Dessaignes called Breton a hypocrite, a cop and a priest.[19]

After the publication of this pamphlet against Breton, theManifestohad a second edition, where Breton added in a note: "While I say that this act is the simplest, it is clear that my intention is not to recommend it to all merely by virtue of its simplicity; to quarrel with me on this subject is much like a bourgeois asking any non-conformist why he does not commit suicide, or asking a revolutionary why he hasn't moved to the USSR".[20]

In 1935, there was a conflict between Breton and theSovietwriter and journalistIlya Ehrenburgduring the first International Congress of Writers for the Defense of Culture, which opened in Paris in June. Breton had been insulted by Ehrenburg — along with all fellow surrealists — in a pamphlet which said, among other things, that surrealists shunned work, favouringparasitism,and that they endorsed "onanism,pederasty,fetishism,exhibitionism,and evensodomy".Breton slapped Ehrenburg several times on the street, which resulted in surrealists being expelled from the Congress.[21]René Crevel, who according toSalvador Dalíwas "the only seriouscommunistamong surrealists ",[22]was isolated from Breton and other surrealists, who were unhappy with Crevel because of hisbisexualityand annoyed with communists in general.[14]

In 1938, Breton accepted a cultural commission from the French government to travel toMexico.After a conference at theNational Autonomous University of Mexicoabout surrealism, Breton stated after getting lost inMexico City(as no one was waiting for him at the airport) "I don't know why I came here. Mexico is the most surrealist country in the world."

Trotsky and Breton in Mexico 1938

However, visiting Mexico provided the opportunity to meetLeon Trotsky.Breton and other surrealists traveled via a long boat ride from Patzcuaro to the town ofErongarícuaro.Diego RiveraandFrida Kahlowere among the visitors to the hidden community of intellectuals and artists. Together, Breton and Trotsky wrote theManifesto for an Independent Revolutionary Art(published under the names of Breton and Diego Rivera) calling for "complete freedom of art", which was becoming increasingly difficult with the world situation of the time.

World War II and exile

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Breton was again in the medical corps of theFrench Armyat the start ofWorld War II.TheVichygovernment banned his writings as "the very negation of thenational revolution"[23]and Breton escaped, with the help of the AmericanVarian FryandHiram "Harry" Bingham IV,to theUnited Statesand theCaribbeanduring 1941.[24][25]He emigrated toNew York Cityand lived there for a few years.[3]In 1942, Breton organized a groundbreaking surrealist exhibition atYale University.[3]

In 1942,[26]Breton collaborated with artistWifredo Lamon the publication of Breton's poem "Fata Morgana", which was illustrated by Lam.

Breton got to knowMartinicanwritersSuzanne CésaireandAimé Césaire,and later composed the introduction to the 1947 edition of Aimé Césaire'sCahier d'un retour au pays natal.During his exile in New York City he metElisa Bindhoff,theChileanwoman who would become his third wife.[14]

In 1944, he and Elisa traveled to theGaspé PeninsulainQuébec,where he wroteArcane 17,a book which expresses his fears of World War II, describes the marvels of thePercé Rockand the extreme northeastern part of North America, and celebrates his new romance with Elisa.[14]

During his visit toHaitiin 1945–46, he sought to connect surrealist politics andautomatistpractices with the legacies of theHaitian Revolutionand the ritual practices ofVodoupossession. Recent developments in Haitian painting were central to his efforts, as can be seen from a comment that Breton left in the visitors' book at theCentre d'ArtinPort-au-Prince:"Haitian painting will drink the blood of the phoenix. And, with the epaulets of[Jean-Jacques] Dessalines,it will ventilate the world. "Breton was specifically referring to the work of painter and Vodou priestHector Hyppolite,whom he identified as the first artist to directly depict Vodou scenes and the lwa (Vodou deities), as opposed to hiding them inchromolithographsof Catholic saints or invoking them through impermanent vevé (abstracted forms drawn with powder during rituals). Breton's writings on Hyppolite were undeniably central to the artist's international status from the late 1940s on, but the surrealist readily admitted that his understanding of Hyppolite's art was inhibited by their lack of a common language. Returning to France with multiple paintings by Hyppolite, Breton integrated this artwork into the increased surrealist focus on the occult, myth, and magic.[27]

Breton's sojourn in Haiti coincided with the overthrow of the country's president,Élie Lescot,by a radical protest movement. Breton's visit was warmly received byLa Ruche,a youth journal of revolutionary art and politics, which in January 1946 published a talk given by Breton alongside a commentary which Breton described as having "an insurrectional tone". The issue concerned was suppressed by the government, sparking a student strike, and two days later, a general strike: Lescot was toppled a few days later. Among the figures associated with bothLa Rucheand the instigation of the revolt were the painter and photographerGérald Bloncourtand the writersRené DepestreandJacques Stephen Alexis.In subsequent interviews Breton downplayed his personal role in the unrest, stressing that "the misery, and thus, the patience of the Haitian people, were at the breaking point" at the time and stating that "it would be absurd to say that I alone incited the fall of the government".Michael Löwyhas argued that the lectures that Breton gave during his time in Haiti resonated with the youth associated withLa Rucheand the student movement, resulting in them "plac(ing) them as a banner on their journal" and "t(aking) hold of them as they would a weapon". Löwy has identified three themes in Breton's talks which he believes would have struck a particular chord with the audience, namely surrealism's faith in youth, Haiti's revolutionary heritage, and a quote fromJacques Roumainextolling the revolutionary potential of the Haitian masses.[28]

Later life

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Breton in the 1960s

Breton returned to Paris in 1946, where he opposedFrench colonialism(for example as a signatory of theManifesto of the 121against theAlgerian War) and continued, until his death, to foster a second group of surrealists in the form of expositions or reviews (La Brèche,1961–65). In 1959, he organized an exhibit in Paris.[14]

By the end of World War II, André Breton decided to embraceanarchismexplicitly. In 1952, Breton wrote "It was in the black mirror of anarchism that surrealism first recognised itself."[29]Breton consistently supported the francophoneAnarchist Federationand he continued to offer his solidarity after thePlatformistsaround founder and Secretary GeneralGeorges Fontenistransformed the FA into theFédération communiste libertaire(FCL).[14][29]

Like a small number of intellectuals during the time of the Algerian War, he continued to support the FCL when it was forced to go underground, even providing shelter to Fontenis, who was in hiding. He refused to take sides in the politically divided French anarchist movement, even though both he and Péret expressed solidarity to the new Anarchist Federation rebuilt by a group ofsynthesist anarchists.He also worked with the FA in theAnti-Fascist Committeesin the 1960s.[29]

André Breton died at the age of 70 in 1966, and was buried in theCimetière des Batignollesin Paris.[30]

Legacy

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Breton as a collector

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Breton was an avid collector of art,ethnographicmaterial, and unusual trinkets. He was particularly interested in materials from the northwest coast of North America[31].During afinancial crisishe experienced in 1931, most of his collection (along with that of his friend Paul Éluard) was auctioned. He subsequently rebuilt the collection in his studio and home at 42 rue Fontaine. The collection grew to over 5,300 items: modern paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, books, art catalogs, journals, manuscripts, and works of popular and Oceanic art.[32]

French anthropologistClaude Lévi-Straussendorsed Breton's skill in authentication based on their time together in 1940s New York.[15]

After Breton's death on 28 September 1966, his third wife, Elisa, and his daughter, Aube, allowed students and researchers access to his archive and collection. After thirty-six years, when attempts to establish a surrealist foundation to protect the collection were opposed, the collection was auctioned by Calmels Cohen at Drouot-Richelieu. A wall of the apartment is preserved at theCentre Georges Pompidou.[33]

Reconstructed wall of Breton's studio at the Centre Pompidou

Nine previously partly unpublished manuscripts, including theManifeste du surréalisme,were auctioned bySotheby'sin May 2008.[34]

Personal life

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Breton married three times:[14]

Works

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  • 1919:Mont de piété[ "Mount of piety"]
  • 1920:S'il vous plaît– Published in English as:If You Please
  • 1920:Les Champs magnétiques(withPhilippe Soupault) – Published in English as:The Magnetic Fields
  • 1923:Clair de terre– Published in English as:Earthlight
  • 1924:Les Pas perdus– Published in English as:The Lost Steps
  • 1924:Manifeste du surréalisme– Published in English as:Surrealist Manifesto
  • 1924:Poisson soluble[ "Soluble fish" ]
  • 1924:Un cadavre[ "A corpse" ]
  • 1926:Légitime défense[ "Legitimate defense" ]
  • 1928:Le Surréalisme et la peinture(expanded editions in 1945 and 1965) – Published in English as:Surrealism and Painting
  • 1928:Nadja(expanded edition 1963) – Published in English as:Nadja
  • 1930:Ralentir travaux[ "Slow down, men at work" ] (withRené CharandPaul Éluard)
  • 1930:Deuxième Manifeste du surréalisme– Published in English as:The Second Manifesto of Surrealism
  • 1930:L'Immaculée Conception(with Paul Éluard) – Published in English as:Immaculate Conception
  • 1931:L'Union libre[ "Free union" ]
  • 1932:Misère de la poésie[ "Poetry's misery" ]
  • 1932:Le Revolver à cheveux blancs[ "The white-haired revolver" ]
  • 1932:Les Vases communicants(expanded edition 1955) – Published in English as:Communicating Vessels
  • 1933:Le Message automatique– Published in English as:The Automatic Message
  • 1934:Qu'est-ce que le surréalisme?– Published in English as:What Is Surrealism?
  • 1934:Point du jour– Published in English as:Break of Day
  • 1934:L'Air de l'eau[ "The air of the water" ]
  • 1935:Position politique du surréalisme[ "Political position of surrealism" ]
  • 1936:Au lavoir noir[ "At the black washtub" ]
  • 1936:Notes sur la poésie[ "Notes on poetry" ] (with Paul Éluard)
  • 1937:Le Château étoilé[ "The starry castle" ]
  • 1937:L'Amour fou– Published in English as:Mad Love
  • 1938:Trajectoire du rêve[ "Trajectory of dream" ]
  • 1938:Dictionnaire abrégé du surréalisme[ "Abridged dictionary of surrealism" ] (with Paul Éluard)
  • 1938:Pour un art révolutionnaire indépendant[ "For an independent revolutionary art" ] (withDiego Rivera)
  • 1940:Anthologie de l'humour noir(expanded edition 1966) – Published in English as:Anthology of Black Humor
  • 1941: "Fata morgana" (A long poem included in subsequent anthologies)
  • 1943:Pleine marge[ "Full margin" ]
  • 1944:Arcane 17– Published in English as:Arcanum 17
  • 1945:Situation du surréalisme entre les deux guerres[ "Situation of surrealism between the two wars" ]
Cover ofYoung Cherry Trees Secured Against Hareswith a photomontage by Marcel Duchamp, 1946
  • 1946:Yves Tanguy(monograph onYves Tanguy)
  • 1946:Les Manifestes du surréalisme(Expanded editions 1955 and 1962) – Published in English as:Manifestoes of Surrealism
  • 1946:Young Cherry Trees Secured Against Hares – Jeunes cerisiers garantis contre les lièvres[Bilingual edition of poems translated byEdouard Roditi]
  • 1947:Ode àCharles Fourier– Published in English as:Ode to Charles Fourier
  • 1948:Martinique, charmeuse de serpents(withAndré Masson) – Published in English as:Martinique: Snake Charmer
  • 1948:La Lampe dans l'horloge[ "The lamp in the clock" ]
  • 1948:Poèmes 1919–48[ "Poems 1919–48" ]
  • 1949:Flagrant délit[ "Red-handed" ]
  • 1952:Entretiens– Published in English as:Conversations: The Autobiography of Surrealism
  • 1953:La Clé des champs– Published in English as:Free Rein
  • 1954:Farouche à quatre feuilles[ "Four-leaf feral" ] (withLise Deharme,Julien Gracq,Jean Tardieu)
  • 1957:L'Art magique– Published in English as:Magical Art
  • 1959:Constellations(withJoan Miró) – Published in English as:Constellations
  • 1961:Le la[ "The A" ]
  • 1966:Clair de terre(Anthology of poems 1919–1936) – Published in English as:Earthlight
  • 1968:Signe ascendant(Anthology of poems 1935–1961) [ "Ascendant sign" ]
  • 1970:Perspective cavalière– [Literally:Cavalier perspective "]
  • 1988:Breton: Oeuvres complètes, tome 1[ "Breton: The Complete Works, tome 1" ]
  • 1992:Breton: Oeuvres complètes, tome 2[ "Breton: The Complete Works, tome 2" ]
  • 1999:Breton: Oeuvres complètes, tome 3[ "Breton: The Complete Works, tome 3" ]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Lawrence Gowing,ed., Biographical Encyclopedia of Artists, v.1 (Facts on File, 2005): 84.
  2. ^André Breton (1969).Manifestoes of Surrealism.University of Michigan Press. p. 26.ISBN0472061828.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-03-19.Retrieved2020-10-29.
  3. ^abcd"André Breton".Biography.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-05-06.Retrieved2020-07-11.
  4. ^Henri Béhar, Catherine Dufour (2005).Dada, circuit total.L'AGE D'HOMME. p. 552.ISBN9782825119068.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-03-19.Retrieved2020-10-29.
  5. ^Vaché, Jacques (1949).Lettres de guerre.André Breton (2ème publication ed.).Archivedfrom the original on 2020-02-01.Retrieved2019-06-10.
  6. ^Reviewing Mark Polizzotti'sRevolution of the Mind: The Life of André BretonDouglas F. Smith called him, "[a] cynical atheist, the poet, critic, and artist harbored an irrepressible streak of romanticism."
  7. ^"To speak of God, to think of God, is in every respect to show what one is made of.... I have always wagered against God and I regard the little that I have won in this world as simply the outcome of this bet. However paltry may have been the stake (my life) I am conscious of having won to the full. Everything that is doddering, squint-eyed, vile, polluted and grotesque is summoned up for me in that one word: God!" - André Breton, taking from a footnote from his book,Surrealism and Painting.Quotations by the poet: Andre BretonArchived2020-02-12 at theWayback Machine
  8. ^Gilson, Étienne (1988).Linguistics and philosophy: an essay on the philosophical constants of language.University of Notre Dame Press. p. 98.ISBN978-0-268-01284-7.Breton professed to be an atheist...
  9. ^Browder, Clifford (1967).André Breton: Arbiter of Surrealism.Droz. p. 133.Again, the atheist Breton's predilection for ideas of blasphemy and profanation, as well as for the "demonic" word noir, contained a hint of Satanism and alliance with infernal powers.
  10. ^"Lost Profiles, Memoirs of Cubism, Dada, and Surrealism".www.citylights.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-12-20.Retrieved2019-06-11.
  11. ^"Tristan Tzara Art, Bio, Ideas".The Art Story.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-04-21.Retrieved2019-06-11.
  12. ^"Les Champs magnétiques (André Breton)".www.andrebreton.fr(in French).Archivedfrom the original on 2022-03-19.Retrieved2021-07-09.
  13. ^ramalhodiogo (2012-07-24)."Bureau of Surrealist Research".Frequently Asked Questions.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-12-21.Retrieved2019-06-11.
  14. ^abcdefgPolizzotti, Mark. (2009).Revolution of the mind: the life of André Breton(1st Black Widow Press ed., rev. & updated ed.). Boston, Mass.: Black Widow Press.ISBN9780979513787.OCLC221148942.
  15. ^abDouglas, Ava."André Breton".www.historygraphicdesign.com.Archived from the original on 2019-02-12.Retrieved2019-02-25.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  16. ^André Breton,Œuvres complètes – I,Gallimard,Bibliothèque de la Pléiade,p. 782–783.
  17. ^Marguerite Bonnet notes that a very similar phrase already appeared in an article published in 1925 in number 2 ofLa Révolution surréalisteand that it had not, in its time, caught the attention. Marguerite Bonnet,André Breton, naissance du surréalisme,Librairie José Corti, Paris, 1975, p. 64–65.
  18. ^Polizzotti, Mark (2009) [First published 1995].Revolution of the Mind(Revised and updated ed.). Boston, MA: First Black Widow Press.ISBN978-0-9795137-8-7.
  19. ^Pascale Cassuto-Roux, "Appels aux meurtres surréalistes", in: Florence Quinche and Antonio Rodriguez (ed.),Quelle éthique pour la littérature?,Labor et Fides, 2007, p. 65–66, (onlineArchived2016-01-29 at theWayback Machine), which refers, for the texts of the pamphletUn Cadavre,toTracts surréalistes et déclarations collectives(1922-1969), t. I (1922-1939), Le Terrain Vague, Éric Losfeld editor, 1980, p. 133–134 and 140–142.
  20. ^André Breton,Œuvres complètes – I,Gallimard, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, p. 783. Quoted by Pascale Cassuto-Roux, "Appels aux meurtres surréalistes", in: Florence Quinche and Antonio Rodriguez (ed.),Quelle éthique pour la littérature?,Labor et Fides, 2007, p. 66,onlineArchived2016-01-29 at theWayback Machine.
  21. ^Abdelhadi, Jason (22 March 2016)."Breton vs Ehrenburg: A Détournement on the Boulevard Montparnasse".Peculiar Mormyrid.peculiarmormyrid.com.Retrieved24 March2024.
  22. ^Crevel, René.Le Clavecin de Diderot, Afterword.p. 161.
  23. ^Franklin RosemontAndré Breton and the First Principles of Surrealism,1978,ISBN0-904383-89-X.
  24. ^Schiffrin, Anya (2019-10-03)."How Varian Fry Helped My Family Escape the Nazis".NYR Daily.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-07-11.Retrieved2020-07-11.
  25. ^"Emergency Escape: Vatican Fry".Americans and the Holocaust.United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-07-26.Retrieved2020-07-11.
  26. ^André Breton,Fata Morgana.Buenos Aires: Éditions des lettres françaises, Sur, 1942.
  27. ^Geis, T. (2015). "Myth, History and Repetition: André Breton and Vodou in Haiti".South Central Review.32(1): 56–75.doi:10.1353/scr.2015.0010.S2CID143481322.
  28. ^Löwy, Michael(19 July 2022)."The Founder of Surrealism Helped Inspire a Revolution in Haiti".Jacobin.Retrieved2022-07-21.
  29. ^abc"1919–1950: The politics of Surrealism by Nick Heath".Libcom.org.Archivedfrom the original on 3 April 2010.Retrieved26 December2009.
  30. ^Art, Surrealism."André Breton | Father of Surrealism".www.surrealismart.org.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-01-16.Retrieved2018-01-24.
  31. ^Fabrice Flahutez (dir.), Marie Mauzé (dir.), André Breton, carnet de voyage chez les indiens Hopi, Paris: Éditions Hermann, 2024 280 p. (ISBN 9791037039248)
  32. ^André Breton, 42, rue Fontaine: tableaux modernes, sculptures, estampes, tableaux anciens.Paris: CalmelsCohen, 2003.
  33. ^"Surrealist Art", Centre Pompidou - Art Culture Mus. 11 March 2010.centrepompidou.frArchived9 February 2010 at theWayback Machine
  34. ^"Nine Manuscripts by André Breton at Sotheby's Paris".ArtDaily.org. 20 May 2008.Archivedfrom the original on 31 May 2013.Retrieved28 March2009.

Further reading

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