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拍品专文
Née Valentine Gross à Boulogne-sur-Mer en 1887, Valentine Hugo fit ses études à l’École des Beaux-Arts de Paris, où elle développa une fascination pour les ballets russes, très à la mode à l’époque. En 1919, elle épouse Jean Hugo, arrière-petit-fils du grand écrivain Victor Hugo. Ils divorcent en 1932 et Valentine est alors soutenue durant cette période très sombre par André Breton et Paul Éluard, avec qui elle collabora sur plusieurs projets d’illustration de textes. Elle commence à fréquenter les surréalistes dès 1928, étant ainsi l’une des premières femmes associées au groupe et devient un membre actif du mouvement surtout entre 1930 et 1936, exposant ses œuvres aux côtés de ces artistes au Salon des Surindépendants de 1933 et participant à une exposition au MoMa de New York en 1936. Surnommée "mon beau cygne" par le poète Jean Cocteau ou encore "ma chère grande fille" par le compositeur Erik Satie, l’écrivain Paul Éluard la commémore quant à lui comme son "amie fidèle, celle avec qui [il] a passé des jours innombrables, délicieux ou pathétiques". Si Valentine Hugo est surtout célébrée pour ses dessins et ses gravures, illustrant souvent des textes surréalistes, ou servant de projets pour des ballets ou des théâtres, elle réalisa également des peintures, caractérisées par leur imagerie onirique, par leur intimité et par la richesse de leur symbolisme et poésie.
Born Valentine Gross in Boulogne-sur-Mer in 1887, Valentine Hugo studied painting at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where she also developed a fascination for the trend at the time, the Russian ballets. She married Jean Hugo, great-grandson of the French author Victor Hugo, in 1919 but they divorced in 1932, a dark period for Valentine during which she was supported by André Breton and Paul Éluard, with whom she collaborated on various illustration projects. Her encounter with the Surrealists dates back to 1928, making her one of the first woman to be affiliated to the group, but she was an active member of the movement between 1930 and 1936, exhibiting alongside these artists at the Salon des Surindépendants of 1933 and at a group show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1936. The poet Jean Cocteau called her "his beautiful swan", the composer Erik Satié "his dear great friend" and the writer Paul Éluard referred to her as "his faithful friend, with whom [he] spent countless, delightful and pathetic days": Valentine Hugo is primarily known for her drawings and engravings, illustrating Surrealist texts, or set and ballet designs, but she also realised a wide array of paintings, characterised by their elusive imagery, intimacy and rich symbolism and poetry.
Born Valentine Gross in Boulogne-sur-Mer in 1887, Valentine Hugo studied painting at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where she also developed a fascination for the trend at the time, the Russian ballets. She married Jean Hugo, great-grandson of the French author Victor Hugo, in 1919 but they divorced in 1932, a dark period for Valentine during which she was supported by André Breton and Paul Éluard, with whom she collaborated on various illustration projects. Her encounter with the Surrealists dates back to 1928, making her one of the first woman to be affiliated to the group, but she was an active member of the movement between 1930 and 1936, exhibiting alongside these artists at the Salon des Surindépendants of 1933 and at a group show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1936. The poet Jean Cocteau called her "his beautiful swan", the composer Erik Satié "his dear great friend" and the writer Paul Éluard referred to her as "his faithful friend, with whom [he] spent countless, delightful and pathetic days": Valentine Hugo is primarily known for her drawings and engravings, illustrating Surrealist texts, or set and ballet designs, but she also realised a wide array of paintings, characterised by their elusive imagery, intimacy and rich symbolism and poetry.