Raymond Cogniat (1896-1977) was a French art critic, journalist, historian of art and expert on theatre design.'Raymond Cogniat', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', 15 March 1977.

Life

Raymond Cogniat was born on 14 April 1896, the son of a journalist. In 1918 he joined the staff of the

Théâtre de l'Atelier The Théâtre de l'Atelier is a theatre at 1, place Charles Dullin in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France. History The theatre opened on 23 November 1822 under the name Théâtre MontmartreEdward Foreman, ''Historical dictionary of French t ...

. He continued to champion avant-garde theatre as a critic for the journal ''Comœdia'' and, until 1940, editor of ''Beaux Arts''. In 1923 Cogniat became the resident art critic of the ''Revue de l'Amérique latine'', developing an expertise . From 1943 to 1967 Cogniat was Principal Inspector of Fine Arts,Raymond Cogniat, contributor
''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

''. Accessed 19 November 2019. and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he was also managing director of the weekly ''Arts''. Cogniat was responsible for the French pavilion at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

between 1956 and 1960, and called for Paris to host a similar event. This resulted in

André Malraux Georges André Malraux ( , ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and Minister of Culture (France), minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (Man's Fate) (1933) won the Prix Go ...

, Minister of Culture, establishing the

Biennale de Paris The ''Biennale de Paris'' (English: Paris Biennale) is a noted French art festival. History The 'Biennale de Paris' was launched by Raymond Cogniat in 1959 and set up by André Malraux as he was Minister of Culture to present an overview of young ...

in 1959, with Cogniat appointed as general delegate in charge of the event. Cogniat was head of the arts section of ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...

'' from 1957 until his death. He died in Paris on 20 February 1977.

Works

* ''Décors de Théatre'', Paris: Editrions des Chroniques du Jour, 1930. * ''De la mise en scène: essai d'esthétique du théâtre'', Paris, 1947. * ''The century of the impressionists'', London: Clematis Press, 1960. Translated by Graham Snell from ''Le siècle des impressionistes'', Paris: Flammarion, 1959. * ''Raoul Dufy'', New York: Crown, 1962. Translated by Thomas L. Callow from the French ''Raoul Duffy'', Paris: Éditions Braun & Cie, 1950. * ''Cinquante ans de spectacles de France. Les decorateurs de theatre'', Paris: Librarie theatrale, 1955 * ''Seventeenth-century painting'', London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1964. Translated by Frances Partridge. * ''XXth century drawings and water-colors'', New York: Crown Publishers, 1966. Translated by Anne Ross from the French ''Dessins et aquarelles du XXe siècle'', Paris: Librarie Hachette, 1966. * ''Monet and his world'', London: Thames & Hudson, 1966. Translated by Wayne Diles from the French. * ''Romanticism'', London: Heron, 1968. Translated by Joan White from the French ''Le romantisme'', Lausanne: Editions Rencontre, 1966. * ''Braque'', New York: Crown Publishers, 1970. Translated by Eileen B. Hennessy from the French ''Braque'', Paris: Éditions Braun & Cie, 1970. * ''Georges Braque'', New York : Harry N. Abrams, 1980. Translated by I. Mark Paris from the French ''G. Braque'', 1976. * ''Sisley'', New York: Crown Publishers, 1978. Translated by Alice Sachs from the French ''Sisley'', Paris: Flammarion, 1978.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cogniat, Raymond 1896 births 1977 deaths French art critics French art historians 20th-century French journalists