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Les Hommes d'aujourd'hui, 326

n°326

Periodical

Author

Person cited Francis Vielé-Griffin
Drawings by Manuel Luque de Soria, dit Luque
Text by Pierre et Paul

Description

The collection of Les Hommes D'Aujourd'hui was founded in September 1878 by André Gill and Félicien Champsaur. The journal was first published by Cinqualbre (until 1883), then by Léon Vanier after two years of interruption. The last publication appeared in 1899. André Breton posessed 27 numbers of the collection.

The revue was originally inspired by the successful journal, Le Bulletin de vote, published in collaboration with the journalist Maxime Rude which was a collection of illustrated biographies, promoting the republican candidats in the legislative elections of October 1877. The collection of Les Hommes d'aujourd'hui strays from militant politics; each number (containing 4 pages) is devoted to a different contemporary figure belonging to the world of arts, literature or science. A colorful portrait of the spotlight celebrity is on each cover, followed by three pages of text. Written in jest, these texts are composed of contemporaneous and fantastic elements.

When Léon Vanier took over the publication in 1885, he would finalize the element of caracature for the series (André Gill and Henri Demare were the consecutive authors of the first portraits).

Among the graphic artists were Collignon and Toqueville. The duo signed under the pseudonym, "Coll-Toc". Among the graphic artists that would join, would be Luque, alias Manuel Luque de Soria, who would sign the portrait for number 326, dedicated to Francis Vielé-Griffin. The symbolist poet is represented here as a dandy, clothed in an elegant black suit, furnished with a quill pen. He is placed before a lute with five cords, which might suggest the title of a work by Joséphin Soulary (Les Cinq cordes du luth, 1838), and more importantly, to one of the greatest symbols of Symbolist poetry.  In the top left corner of the drawing, a vignette with two swans, a reference to a collection of poetry published by Vielé-Griffin in 1892, Les Cygnes. Luque twists the neck, literally, emblem of the poet inspired by the swan since Mallarmé.

The text is signed « Pierre et Paul », collective pseudonym of a team of authors.