André Breton
French co-founder of Surrealism (1896–1966) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the Quebec-born singer, see André Breton (singer). For the French publisher, see André le Breton.
André Robert Breton (French: [ɑ̃dʁe ʁɔbɛʁ bʁətɔ̃]; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism.[1] His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto (Manifeste du surréalisme) of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism".[2]
Quick Facts Born, Died ...
André Breton | |
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Breton in 1924 | |
Born | André Robert Breton (1896-02-19)19 February 1896 Tinchebray, France |
Died | 28 September 1966(1966-09-28) (aged 70) Paris, France |
Occupation | Writer |
Period | 20th century |
Genre | poetry, essays, novels, aesthetics |
Literary movement | Surrealism |
Notable works |
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Spouse | Simone Kahn
(m. 1921; div. 1931) |
Children | 1 |
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Along with his role as leader of the surrealist movement he is the author of celebrated books such as Nadja and L'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.