André Breton
André Breton: The Father of Surrealism
Full Name and Common Aliases
André Breton was born on February 19, 1896, in Tinchebray, France. He is commonly known as the father of Surrealism, a movement that revolutionized modern art.
Birth and Death Dates
February 19, 1896 – September 28, 1966
Nationality and Profession(s)
French poet, critic, writer, and theorist. Breton was also an artist and filmmaker.
Early Life and Background
André Breton grew up in a middle-class family in Normandy. His father was a naval officer, and his mother was a devout Catholic. Breton's early life was marked by a sense of disconnection from the world around him. He suffered from depression and anxiety, which would later influence his artistic endeavors.
Breton began writing poetry at a young age and was heavily influenced by French Symbolist poets such as Charles Baudelaire and Paul Verlaine. In 1915, he enlisted in the French army during World War I, where he was wounded twice and eventually discharged due to shell shock.
Major Accomplishments
Breton's most significant contribution to modern art is the development of Surrealism. In 1924, he founded the Surrealist movement with his manifesto, "The Surrealist Manifesto." This text laid out the principles of Surrealism, which emphasized the importance of the subconscious and the world of dreams.
Throughout his life, Breton was a prolific writer and artist. He published numerous collections of poetry, essays, and short stories, including "Free Union" (1924) and "What is Surrealism?" (1936). Breton also collaborated with other notable artists, such as Salvador Dalí and René Magritte.
Notable Works or Actions
Some of Breton's most notable works include:
Les Vases Communicants (1922), a collection of poetry that explores the relationship between the self and the external world.
The Surrealist Manifesto (1924), which introduced the principles of Surrealism to the art world.
* Free Union (1924), a collection of poems that celebrate the power of love and desire.
Breton was also an accomplished artist, producing paintings, drawings, and collages throughout his life. His artwork often featured dream-like scenarios and fantastical creatures.
Impact and Legacy
André Breton's influence on modern art is immeasurable. Surrealism, which he founded and led for over three decades, has had a lasting impact on art, literature, and film. The movement's emphasis on the subconscious and the world of dreams paved the way for future avant-garde movements, including Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art.
Breton's work also influenced generations of writers, artists, and thinkers. His ideas about the importance of the subconscious and the role of the artist as a catalyst for social change have had a lasting impact on modern thought.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
André Breton is widely quoted and remembered for his innovative and provocative ideas about art and society. His concept of Surrealism, which emphasized the importance of the subconscious and the world of dreams, has become a touchstone for avant-garde movements around the world.
Breton's writing is characterized by its lyricism, wit, and intellectual curiosity. His poetry and essays are a testament to his boundless imagination and his willingness to challenge conventional norms and expectations.
Today, Breton's legacy continues to inspire artists, writers, and thinkers who seek to push the boundaries of what is possible in art and life.
Quotes by André Breton
André Breton's insights on:
There is By my leaning over the precipice Of your presence and your absence in hopeless fusion My finding the secret Of loving you Always for the first time.
There is no use being alive if one must work. The event from which each of us is entitled to expect the revelation of his own life’s meaning – that event which I may not yet have found, but on whose path I seek myself – is not earned by work.
Surrealism will usher you into death, which is a secret society. It will glove your hand, burying therein the profound M with which the word Memory begins.
Every time you date someone with an issue that you have to work to ignore, you’re settling.
Who am I? If this once I were to rely on a proverb, then perhaps everything would amount to knowing whom I ‘haunt.’
To reduce the imagination to a state of slavery – even though it would mean the elimination of what is commonly called happiness – is to betray all sense of absolute justice within oneself. Imagination alone offers me some intimation of what can be.
Let us not mince words... the marvelous is always beautiful, anything marvelous is beautiful, in fact only the marvelous is beautiful.
It is hard not to see into the future, faced with today’s blind architecture – a thousand times more stupid and more revolting than that of other ages. How bored we shall be inside!