Jacques Hérold Explained

Jacques Hérold
Birth Name:Jacques Hérold
Birth Date:10 October 1910
Birth Place:Piatra Neamț, Romania
Death Place:Paris, France
Nationality:Romanian
Field:Painting, Drawing, Sculpture
Training:School of Fine Arts, Bucharest, Romania
Movement:Surrealism, Tachisme

Jacques Hérold (born Herold Blumer; 10 October 191011 January 1987) was a prominent surrealist painter born in Piatra Neamț, Romania.

Biography

Considered one of the most important late-period Surrealist painters, Hérold was born in a Jewish family in Piatra Neamț, Romania. He spent most of his childhood in the Danubian port city of Galați, where his father was making and selling candy. Between 1925 and 1927 he studied at a School of Fine Arts in Bucharest, against his father's will. After 2 years, he abandoned the Art Academy in 1929 and instead started working at an architecture bureau. In the same year he briefly contributed to a few Romanian Surrealist revues.

In 1930, he moved to France and, thanks to a fake ID, changed his name from Herold Blumer (his birth name) to Jacques Hérold. He settled in Paris, where he maintained a close friendship with Constantin Brâncuși, for whom he also worked as a chef or even secretary. He also met Surrealist painter Yves Tanguy, thanks to whom Hérold was allowed in Breton's group, participating at games and contributing with paintings that were held in high esteem by the likes of Raoul Ubac or Andre Breton himself.

After the tensioned period of World War II, he managed to have his first solo exhibition in 1947. Starting with this year's "Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme", he had an active presence in all the important Surrealist exhibitions worldwide. After 1951 (when he also departed from Breton's group), his style increased in abstraction and would be associated later with Lyrical abstraction and Tachisme. In 1958 he published the book Maltraité de peinture and received the Copley Foundation prize. In 1959 he had an exhibition at the Tate Gallery from London. In 1972, a monographic exhibition at l'Abbaye de Royaumont. In 1986, one year before his death, he exhibited works at the Venice Biennale.

During his lifetime, Hérold has done cover artwork and illustrations for more than 80 books by the likes of Gherasim Luca, Tristan Tzara, Francis Ponge, Julien Gracq, Marquis de Sade, Michel Butor, Alain Bosquet, Gellu Naum, Ilarie Voronca, Claude Sernet, etc. In 1995, Art critic Sarane Alexandrian published the essay book Jacques Hérold. Étude historique et critique.

Individual exhibitions

Wuppertal, Galerie Parnass

Milan, Galleria Milano

Turin, Galerie Il Fauno

Montauban, Maison du Peuple

Asnières-sur-Oise, Abbaye de Royaumont

Paris, Galerie de Larcos

Florence, Galerie Saletta Gonnelli

Rome, Studio Zebra

Paris, Galerie Arenthon

Main group exhibitions

Paris, Galerie contemporaine : Le rêve dans l’art et la littérature

Paris, Salon des Surindépendants -

Bruxelles, Galerie des Éditions La Boétie : Surréalisme

Paris, Galerie Pierre : Hommage à Antonin Artaud

Paris, Salon des Surindépendants

Prague, Topicov Salon : Surrealismo internazionale

Paris, Salon des Surindépendants

Londres, Institut of Contemporary Arts : London-Paris

Tokyo, Exposition internationale

Lima, Galeria de Lima : Pinturas Surrealistas

Paris, Salon de Mai (et les suivants jusqu’en 1968)

Paris, Galerie Daniel Cordier : Exposition internationale du Surréalisme (EROS)

Gand, Musée des Beaux-Arts : Figuration Défiguration - La figure humaine depuis Picasso

Sao Paulo, Museu de Arte Moderna, VIIIe Biennale : Surrealismo e Arte fantastica

Tel Aviv, Musée d’art moderne : Le Surréalisme

Berne, Kunsthalle : Phantastische Kunst Surrealismus

Paris, Musée des Arts décoratifs : Le Surréalisme

Château de Saint-Cirq-Lapopie : Aspects du Surréalisme

Bruxelles, Galerie Govaerts : Les demeures d’Hypnos

Paris, Musée National d’Art Moderne - Centre Georges Pompidou : Paris - Paris, 1937-1957

Marseille, La Vieille Charité : La Planète affolée

Paris, Galerie Artcurial : L’aventure surréaliste autour d’André Breton

Works in French and foreign museums

References and sources

References
  • Sources
  • External links