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Duvillier's drag-net

Manuscript

Author

Author André Breton
Person cited René Duvillier

Description

Manuscript of a text by André Breton dated 18 May 1955 devoted to the exhibition Duvillier, le Cheval de mer OCÉAN.

To observe ‘Duvillier’s drag-net’ was for Breton the occasion to once again denounce the sterile division that had established itself between a certain neo-realism and the proponents of abstraction. But in intervening in the public debate in this manner, Breton remains mindful of the work of a painter who would confess to having seen his life turned upside-down by this text. In effect, the poet instinctively discerned the originality of a complex relationship between the male and the female in this work. Fascinated by the paintings born of the spectacle of the ocean, Breton celebrates a truly lyrical abstraction, one that isn’t confined to a purely cerebral effort but that locates – as it did for Riopelle — the course of the secret and mythical rhythms of nature. This text was used as the preface to the exhibition organised at the à l'Étoile scellée gallery in June 1955; it would be republished in 1965 in the definitive edition of Surrealism and Painting. [Atelier André Breton website, 2005]

Signed handwritten manuscript, 18 May 1955
- 1 in-8° page manuscript, titled, dated and signed in ink by Breton with deletions and corrections of this text devoted to the painter René Duvillier:
‘Hegel said: “The subject matter of representation is equally this sentient matter [which perception furnishes] but it is a matter which I have adapted to my own needs...”. I would add: lyrical to the highest degree, the moment that I apply these considerations to the work of Duvillier in which, as in the act of love, the cosmic surge and swell which moulds the billowing waves weds the heart’s movements and transports them unhesitatingly towards the point of ecstasy.’ [Auction catalogue, 2003]

 

Translated by Krzysztof Fijalkowski

Bibliography

André Breton (Édition publiée sous la direction d'Étienne-Alain Hubert avec la collaboration de Philippe Bernier et Marie-Claire Dumas), « Duvillier au tramail », Le Surréalisme et la PeintureŒuvres complètes, tome IV, Écrits sur l'art et autres textes, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, Paris, Gallimard, 2008, pages 760-761, ill., notes p. 1364.

 

Creation date18-mai-55
Bibliographical material

1 in-8° page manuscript in blue ink.

André Breton, ‘Duvillier au tramail’, Œuvres complètes, volume IV, Écrits sur l'art et autres textes (edition established by Marguerite Bonnet and edited by Étienne-Alain Hubert with contributions from Philippe Bernier and Marie-Claire Dumas), Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, Paris, Gallimard, 2008, pp. 760-61, ill., notes p. 1364.

LanguagesFrench
Physical descriptionMs - encre bleue sur papier bleu
Number of pages1 p.
Reference699000
Breton Auction, 2003Lot 2402
Keywords,
CategoriesManuscripts, Andre Breton's Manuscripts
Set[Breton's Manuscripts and Drawings] dossier Le Surréalisme et la peinture
ExhibitionDuvillier, Le cheval de mer Océan
Permanent linkhttps://www.andrebreton.fr/en/work/56600100182270
Exhibition place

See also

3 Works
 
False

[Par les bons soins d'Elisa te parviendra...]

-
Wolfgang Paalen

-

Lettre de Wolfgang Paalen à André Breton, datée du 30 juin 1955.

Une image, une notice descriptive, une bibliothèque.

[Correspondance] Correspondance avec Wolgang Paalen

False

Duvillier

-
René Duvillier

Catalogue invitation pour l'exposition Duvillier organisée à l'Étoile scellée du 2 au 23 juin 1955.

Pas d'image, une notice descriptive, une exposition.

False

Duvillier

-
René Duvillier

-

Carton d'invitation pour l'exposition Duvillier organisée à l'Étoile scellée du 2 au 23 juin 1955.

Deux images, une notice descriptive, une bibliographie.

[Expositions] 1955, Étoile scellée

2 Comments
 

Le titre correct du texte de Breton est bien sûr "Duvillier au tramail", ce qui nous met immédiatement au contact de l'océan.

Jérôme Duwa

14/02/2010

Eh, oui, vous avez raison le tramail étant un « filet de pêche que l'on mouille verticalement, indique le TLFi. Il se compose de trois nappes, deux extérieures à larges mailles et une intérieure à mailles beaucoup plus petites, qui constituent un piège dans lequel le poisson demeure prisonnier ». Merci.

webmaster

09/12/2012