PIERRE ROY 1880-1950
Pierre Roy a relative of the famous French writer Jules Vernes was borned
in Nantes in 1880. One of the original surrealists, Roy may be considered
an immediate father of magic realism or superrealism. When he was 30
he met fauvist creators and writers Salmon, Appolinaire and Max Jacob.
Later he met Paul Eluard, Philippe Soupault, Marcel Duchamp and Picabia
and became interested in surrealism. The first group exhibition of surrealist
artists was in 1925 at the Galerie Pierre; it included Jean Arp, Giorgio
de Chirico, Max Ernst, Paul Klee, Andre Masson, Joan Miro, Man Ray,
Picasso and Pierre Roy.
Unusual and "mystère onirique" are the keys to his work which represents,
in meticulous detail, recognizable scenes and objects which are taken
out of natural context, distorted and combined in fantastic ways as
they might be in dreams; its sources are in the art of fauvist painter
Henri Rousseau and also De Chirico who was a very good friend of him.
Danger on the Stairs, 1927 or 1928 is an overt example of fantastic
dissociation, but nonetheless effective for that. Pierre Roy is especially
appreciated in the United States where he often exhibited his paintings;
several of them were reproduced on the cover of Vogue magazine. Among
his admirors were Jean Cocteau and Aragon.
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