Fernand Crommelynck (19 November 1886 – 17 March 1970) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. His work is known for farces in which commonplace weaknesses are developed into monumental obsessions.

Biography

He was born into a family of actors, the child of a French mother and a Belgian father and he himself was also an

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. His sons

Aldo Crommelynck Aldo Crommelynck (26 December 1931 – 22 December 2008) was a Belgian master printmaker who made intaglio prints in collaboration with many important European and American artists of the 20th century. At the time of his death, The Guardian ter ...

(1931–2009), Piero (1934-2001) and Milan were renowned master printmakers, who worked with

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

and many other major artists of the twentieth century. In his earliest works Crommelynck already demonstrated the grasp of style and content that in his maturity culminated in works of great poetic force. The dramatic structure in ''Nous n'irons plus au bois'' (1906), ''Le sculpteur de masques'' (1908) and ''Le marchand de regrets'' (1913), was already based on the logical development of an absurd premise. French composer

Cecile Paul Simon Cecile Paul Simon (April 12, 1881 - January 3, 1970) was a French composer who published under at least two pseudonyms and was the mother of composer Louise Marie Simon (also known as Claude Arrieu). Simon was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Little ...

set ''Le marchand de regrets'' to music. Crommelynck's masterpiece was '' Le Cocu magnifique'' (1920), a 'lyrical farce' on the theme of a lover's jealousy. Staged with constructivist sets by

Vsevolod Meyerhold Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold (russian: Всеволод Эмильевич Мейерхольд, translit=Vsévolod Èmíl'evič Mejerchól'd; born german: Karl Kasimir Theodor Meyerhold; 2 February 1940) was a Russian and Soviet theatre ...

— the first of their kind — the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

play was such a hit that Crommelynck was able to give up acting and devote himself to writing. In ''Tripes d'or'' (1926) he satirized the passion for money and the spurious prestige it confers, while in ''Carine, ou la jeune fille folle de son âme'' (1929) he contrasted love and sensuality in the story of a chaste young girl who is faithful to her ideals of love to the bitter end. Both in language and dramatic technique, Crommelynck has been one of the most lyrical and original writers of the 20th century theatre.

Select works

Crommelynck - Le Sculpteur de Masques 001

*''Le Sculpteur de masques'' (1908) *''L'Histoire de Minna Claessens'' (Alfred Machin, 1912) *''L'agent Rigolo et son chien policier'' (Alfred Machin, 1912) *''Le Marchand de regrets'' (1913) *''Maudite soit la guerre'' (Alfred Machin, 1914) *''Le Cocu magnifique'' (drama)' (1921) *''Les Amants puérils'' (1921) *''Tripes d'or'' (1930) *''Le Cadavre n° 5'' (Gaston Schoukens, 1932) *''Une Femme qu'a le cœur trop petit'' (1934) *''Chaud et froid'' (1936)

Selected filmography

* '' The Judge'' (1921) * '' Miarka'' (1937) * ''

The Novel of Werther ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1938) * '' I Am with You'' (1943)

References

External links

Fernand Crommelynck Bio-and Bibliography
*
Fernand Crommelynck in Britannica Online Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crommelynck, Fernand 1886 births 1970 deaths 20th-century Belgian dramatists and playwrights Belgian male dramatists and playwrights