Marcel Lecomte (25 September 1900, Saint-Gilles (

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

) – 19 November 1966, Brussels) 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 ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

, member of the Belgian

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

movement. In 1918 he was introduced to

dadaism Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...

and Eastern philosophy by Clément Pansaers. He also started to study literature and philosophy at the Université Libre de Bruxelles that year, but he left the studies in 1920. In 1922, he published the highly acclaimed ''Demonstrations'', his first collection of poetry. In 1924 he founded a group named ''Correspondence'' with Paul Nougé and

Camille Goemans Camille may refer to: Fictional entities * a List of Power Rangers Jungle Fury characters#Camille, Power Rangers Jungle Fury character * Camille Wallaby, a character in Alfred Hedgehog * a character from ''League of Legends'' video game voiced by ...

from which he was excommunicated the following year; however, they became close again thanks to common interest in surrealism. Yet he was not a strict surrealist, being more interested in the

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

of the dailiness. The same year he was excluded from the group, Lecomte published his second book of poetry entitled ''Applications''. The work featured two illustrations from his friend

René Magritte René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature and bound ...

. Magritte's growing interest in Surrealism maybe have begun with Lecomte. The artist often recounted the moment Lecomte took him to view a reproduction of

Giorgio de Chirico Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( , ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the '' scuola metafisica'' art movement, which profoundly influ ...

's ''

The Song of Love ''The Song of Love'' (also known as ''Le chant d'amour'' or ''Love Song'') is a 1914 painting by Italian metaphysical painter Giorgio de Chirico. It is one of the most famous works by Chirico and an early example of the surrealist style, thoug ...

'' as a moment when he uncontrollably wept. Lecomte also inspired a number of Magritte's paintings and was portrayed in his "Souvenir de Voyage" ("In Memory of a Journey", 1955). Between 1934 and 1945 he was a teacher at a secondary school. While he continued to write poetry, Lecomte focused on critical work and reviews of art, philosophy and poetry, writing for a variety of newspapers, including a weekly column in La Laterne. From 1958, he also worked as a counsellor for the Brussels´ Museum of Art. In 2013, University of Maryland doctoral student K. A. Wisniewski began translating selected poems by Lecomte into English. These poems have appeared in the ''

Chariton Review The ''Chariton Review'' is an American literary magazine based at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. The journal was founded in 1975 by Andrew Grossbart. Jim Barnes was the editor from 1976 to 2010."Charton Review," St. Louis Post ...

'' at Truman State University and ''basalt'' from the Eastern Oregon University.

Bibliography

* ''Démonstrations'', 1922 * ''Applications'', illustrated by

, 1925 * ''L'Homme au complet gris clair'', 1931 * ''Les Minutes insolites'' ix récits 1936 * ''Lucide'', 1939 * ''La Servante au miroir'', 1941 * ''Le Règne de la lenteur'', 1943 * ''Rencontre dans Paris'', illustrated by Raoul Ubac, 1944 * ''L'Accent du secret'', 1944 * ''L'Œuvre de Suzanne Van Damme'', 1946 * ''Rachel Baes'', 1947 * ''Le Sens des

tarot The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots ...

s'', illustrated by

Pierre Alechinsky Pierre Alechinsky (born 19 October 1927) is a Belgian artist. He has lived and worked in France since 1951. His work is related to tachisme, abstract expressionism, and lyrical abstraction. Life Alechinsky was born in Schaerbeek. In 1944 he ...

, 1948 * ''D'un nouvel espace'', 1956 * ''Univers et signes de Rem'', 1957 * ''Le Carnet et les instants'', preface by

Jean Paulhan Jean Paulhan (2 December 1884 – 9 October 1968) was a French writer, literary critic and publisher, director of the literary magazine ''Nouvelle Revue Française'' (NRF) from 1925 to 1940 and from 1946 to 1968. He was a member (Seat 6, 1963–68 ...

, 1964 * ''Le Cœur et la main'', illustrated by Jane Graverol, 1968 * ''Le Sens de la vie'', illustrated by René Magritte, 1968 * ''Le Suspens'', 1971 * ''Œuvres'' (''L'Homme au complet gris clair. La Servante au miroir. Le Carnet et les instants''), 1980 * ''Les Minutes insolites'', note by Jean Paulhan, 1981 * ''Les Voies de la littérature''. Choix de chroniques littéraires suivi d'une bibliographie établis par Philippe Dewolf, coll. "Archives du Futur", 1988 * ''Le Regard des choses''. Choix de chroniques artistiques et de préfaces d'expositions établi et annoté par Philippe Dewolf, coll. "Archives du Futur", 1992 * ''Comment j'ai entendu une jolie fille se faire dresser par un spécialiste'' suivi de ''Le jeune Gérard'', 1995

References

External links

About Belgian surrealism, in French

Bibliography of Belgian surrealism
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lecomte, Marcel 1900 births 1966 deaths Surrealist poets Belgian poets in French 20th-century Belgian poets Belgian male poets 20th-century Belgian male writers People from Saint-Gilles, Belgium