Description

Handwritten autograph text by André Breton about Judit Reigl, dated 31 October 1954.

A friend of Simon Hantaï's and, like him, from Hungary, Judit Reigl was introduced to Breton in 1954; he very quickly fell in love, not with the woman but with a painting whose enthusiasm he wanted to communicate "to those who are worth the trouble". 

He would do this in November, with a preface written for the artist's exhibition at the Étoile scellée (‘Sealed Star’) gallery. In it, he celebrates the "pure rhythm", the "rare" glimmers, the "sumptuous embrace", in a text full of lyricism that would be included in the definitive edition of Le Surréalisme et la peinture (Surrealism and Painting) in 1965. In the summer of that year, Judit Reigl had already given him a painting that, when it was placed in his studio, had already struck him as a "solemn sign".  [André Breton Workshop website, 2005].

Autograph manuscript, dated 31 October 1954.

1/2 page in-4° first draft in ink on the reverse side of letterheaded paper for the journal Médium, dated and signed by André Breton, with erasures and corrections of his preface for the exhibition by Judith Reigl at the gallery À L'Étoile Scellée in 1954.

"Lautréamont, who Judit Reigl - coming after so many misguided illustrators - was the first to translate and expand for us in the language of the eyes." 

The new edition of Le Surréalisme et la peinture, Gallimard, 1965. [Sale Catalogue, 2003]

 

Bibliography

André Breton (Édition publiée sous la direction d'Étienne-Alain Hubert avec la collaboration de Philippe Bernier et Marie-Claire Dumas), Le Surréalisme et la Peinture, Œuvres complètes, tome IV, Écrits sur l'art et autres textes, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, Paris, Gallimard, 2008, pages 638-639, ill. par « Ils ont soif insatiable de l'Infini » p. 639, note page 1333.

 

Creation date	31-déc.-54
Bibliographical material	1/2 page in-4°
Languages	French
Physical description	Ms - encre noire
Number of pages	1
Reference	693000
Breton Auction, 2003	Lot 2384
Keywords	Exhibitions, Work notes, Painting
Categories	Manuscripts, Andre Breton's Manuscripts
Set	[Breton's Manuscripts and Drawings] dossier Le Surréalisme et la peinture
Exhibition	Judit Reigl
Permanent link	https://cms.andrebreton.fr/en/work/56600100410470