Aymeric Eugène Robert d’Humières (2 March 1868 – 26 April 1915) was a French man of letters, poet, chronicler, translator and theatre director.

Biography

Robert d'Humières was born on 2 March 1868 at the

Château de Conros The Château de Conros is a medieval castle, later heavily modified, situated in Arpajon-sur-Cère in the Cantal ''département'' of France. Robert d'Humières, grandfather of the present owners, was born here. He was a noted literary figure who t ...

Arpajon-sur-Cère Arpajon-sur-Cère (, literally ''Arpajon on Cère''; oc, Arpajon de Cera or just ) is a commune in the Cantal department in the Auvergne region of south-central France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Arpajonnais'' or ''Arpajonnai ...

Cantal Cantal (; oc, Cantal or ) is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour, Cantal, Saint ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

''. A former pupil of Saint-Cyr, he returned to civilian life. Called up for the duration of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as captain with the 4e régiment de zouaves, he was killed on 26 April 1915 at Lizerne. (in the defence of

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

). He was cited in army orders as ''être mort en héros en combattant à la tête de son unité'' ("died heroically in combat at the head of his unit"). He was posthumously awarded the title of

Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

. He was the son of Count Aymeric d'Humières (1839–1923) and the Countess, ''née'' Norah Kelly, an American of Irish origin, born in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

(1842–1922), the daughter of Robert Kelly. In 1905, he married Marie de Dampierre (1881–1917); they had three children. A friend of

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...

, he helped the latter with his translation of

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...

's ''The Bible of Amiens''. He was friend of Oscar Wilde who gives him a dedicated copy of his Poems (Paris, collection Jean-David Jumeau-Lafond).

Career

If the name of Robert d'Humières is still known today, it is thanks to his friendship with Proust and also because of the beautiful translations he made (in collaboration with Louis Fabulet) of the works of

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

. He was also an author whose personal genius, humanism, culture, scientific curiosity and first class poetic inspiration, clearly illustrate French literature. His penetrating, sometimes prophetic and always highly enlightened reflection, place him amongst the most inspired philosophers. He was made director of the théâtre des Arts, from 1907 to 1909. He presented his silent drama ''The Tragedy of Salome'' with the American dancer

Loie Fuller Loie Fuller (born Marie Louise Fuller; January 15, 1862 – January 1, 1928), also known as Louie Fuller and Loïe Fuller, was an American actress and dancer who was a pioneer of both modern dance and theatrical lighting techniques. Career Born ...

in his first season;

Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, pat ...

reused this poem for his ballet 1913.

Works

D'Humières developed an aesthetic of high and enlightened thoughts that is expressed in a dazzling form, sometimes mixing poetry and science. His epistolary novel, ''Lettres volées'' (1911), is of no less value than ''Les Liaisons dangereuses''.Stoeffler (Alain), ''George Barbier a teatro, o l'uomo che veste i sogni, '', in catalogue d'exposition ''George Barbier – La Nascita del Déco'', Venise : ''Marsilio'', 2008. *1894 ''La Belle au Bois Dormant'', dramatic fairy tale in three acts written in collaboration with

Henry Bataille Félix-Henri "Henry" Bataille (4 April 1872, in Nîmes – 2 March 1922, in Rueil-Malmaison) was a French dramatist and poet. His works were popular between 1900 and the start of World War I. Bataille's parents died when he was young. He attend ...

and premiered on 24 May 1894. *1895 ''Les Temps nouveaux de M. de Castellane'', article published in ''

La Revue blanche ''La Revue blanche'' was a French art and literary magazine run between 1889 and 1903. Some of the greatest writers and artists of the time were its collaborators. History The ''Revue blanche'' was founded in Liège in 1889 and run by the Natans ...

'' no.56, 1 October 1895. *1900 ''Voyage'', article published in ''

le Mercure de France The was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was published f ...

'' no.125, May 1900. *1902 ''Du Désir aux Destinées'', Paris, Société du Mercure de France, 1902 (poems). *1904 ''L'Ile et l'Empire de Grande-Bretagne. Angleterre – Égypte – Inde'', Paris, Société du Mercure de France, 1904. *1907 '' La Tragédie de Salomé'', silent drama in two acts and seven tableaux, music by

Florent Schmitt Florent Schmitt (; 28 September 187017 August 1958) was a French composer. He was part of the group known as Les Apaches. His most famous pieces are ''La tragédie de Salome'' and ''Psaume XLVII'' (Psalm 47). He has been described as "one of the ...

. *1908 ''Bernard Shaw'', article published in ''Comoedia'', 5 May 1908. *1911 ''Lettres volées – Roman d'Aujourd'hui'', Paris, Librairie Félix Juven. Some of his poems were set to music by

Charles Koechlin Charles-Louis-Eugène Koechlin (; 27 November 186731 December 1950), commonly known as Charles Koechlin, was a French composer, teacher and musicologist. He was a political radical all his life and a passionate enthusiast for such diverse things ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humieres, Robert d 1868 births 1915 deaths People from Cantal French translators English–French translators Rudyard Kipling French military personnel killed in World War I Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur