Description

Two handwritten drafts by André Breton of a chronological correspondence of Flora Tristan, accompanied by a text dated 16 July, 1957 and a letter from Flora Tristan. This presentation by André Breton of Flora Tristan's letters was published in the third issue of Le Surréalisme, même, in the autumn of 1957. A feminist revolutionary of Peruvian origin, who died in 1844, and known to have been close to Fourier, fascinated the surrealists for the purity of her commitment, which was uncompromisingly opposed to the bourgeois world of her time. The internationalist dimension of her work inspired their admiration. We should also recall that the year 1957 was one of renewed political activity for Breton, with the formation, together with Kostas Axelos and Aimé Césaire, of the Cercle international des intellectuels révolutionnaires [International Circle of Revolutionary Intellectuals]. [Atelier André Breton website, 2005] Autograph manuscripts, July 1957. A two-page autograph first draft text by André Breton, titled ‘Flora Tristan (1803-1844) Unpublished Correspondence’. Two pages of a final text with some erasures and corrections of the same text. A three-page letter from Flora Tristan copied in ink by André Breton, folioed 3, 5 on the first page, 6 on the second and 7 on the third. One-page autograph manuscript in ink signed by André Breton and titled "8 unpublished letters from Flora Tristan", with erasures and corrections: "There is probably no female destiny that, in the firmament of the spirit, leaves a wake both as long and as bright as that of Flora Tristan (1803-1844). Through her father, she was a descendant of Montezuma, and was also Gaugin’s maternal grandmother. We know what flashes of lightning zigzagged through her life [...]. The setbacks of every kind that she will encounter would subsequently never overcome the unlimited generosity that animated her and that underpins an unparalleled level of energy. Through her we touch the heart of French Romanticism; she appears as the very flowering of its social branch. We salute in Flora Tristan the one who said that 'Woman reflects the divine light'.” This text by André Breton was published in the N° 3 of Le Surréalisme, même together with letter N°6 copied in its entirety by André Breton. [Auction Catalogue, 2003]

Bibliography

André Breton, « Flora Tristan », Le Surréalisme, même, n° 3, automne 1957, p 4.

Flora Tristan, « 7 lettres inédites », Le Surréalisme, même, n° 3, automne 1957, pp 5-12.

André Breton (Édition publiée sous la direction d'Étienne-Alain Hubert avec la collaboration de Philippe Bernier et Marie-Claire Dumas), « Flora Tristan », Perspective cavalière, Œuvres complètes, tome IV, Écrits sur l'art et autres textes, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, Paris, Gallimard, 2008, p. 966-967, notice p. 1420-1421.

 

Creation date	16-juil-57
Bibliographical material	2 pages in-12 2 pages in-12 3 pages in-4° 1 page in-4°
Languages	French
Reference	1291000
Breton Auction, 2003	Lot 2444
Keywords	Correspondence, Letter, Reviews and Journals, Publication
Categories	Manuscripts, Andre Breton's Manuscripts
Set	[Archives] Le surréalisme, même
Permanent link	https://cms.andrebreton.fr/en/work/56600100239510

See also