The Eye of the Poet: Andre Breton and the Visual Arts

André Breton's commitment to the visual arts is explored in the book, tracing the development of his surrealist aesthetics and the centrality of art to his political agenda. It also highlights Breton as a collector/collagist, showcasing the works he displayed in his Paris apartment.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 13 June 2022
Publisher: Reaktion Books

This is the first comprehensive study in English of surrealist leader André Bretons life-long commitment to the visual arts. As an essayist, art critic, collector, gallery director, and artist, he actively promoted many painters, from Gustave Moreau and outsider artists to fellow surrealists like Max Ernst and André Masson. The book tracks both the development of Bretons surrealist aesthetics within the Parisian avant-garde art scene and the centrality of art to his political agenda. It also highlights Bretons collector/collagist – the works he displayed in his Paris apartment, ranging from Oceanic masks to African sculptures, paintings to pebbles, are themselves seen as an ever-changing assemblage.

This is the first comprehensive study in English of surrealist leader André Bretons life-long commitment to the visual arts. As an essayist, art critic, collector, gallery director, and artist, he actively promoted many painters, from Gustave Moreau and outsider artists to fellow surrealists like Max Ernst and André Masson. The book tracks both the development of Bretons surrealist aesthetics within the Parisian avant-garde art scene and the centrality of art to his political agenda. It also highlights Bretons collector/collagist – the works he displayed in his Paris apartment, ranging from Oceanic masks to African sculptures, paintings to pebbles, are themselves seen as an ever-changing assemblage.

Weight: 1118g
Dimension: 198 x 258 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781789145311