Kristians Tonny
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Tonny Kristians (September 13, 1907 — June 20, 1977), known as Kristians Tonny, was a Surrealist painter and draftsman whose career spanned from the 1920s through to the 1970s. Born in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, he moved to
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
with his parents in 1913. Encouraged by his father, he began painting and drawing at an early age, which resulted in him securing his first exhibition at the Paris gallery ''Mouninou'' at the age of twelve and breaking through as an avant-garde artist in 1929. Later in life he suffered considerable setbacks both in his personal life and career, as a result of which interest in his work dwindled.


Early life

His talent was recognized early on by his father, A. Kristians, who began to encourage him. He was made to stay at home and help his father in the studio. He also accompanied his parents wherever they went, and his exposure to Paris street-life, the
cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...
s and the cinema provided him with much of the inspiration for his early work. He was considered a
child prodigy A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...
and quickly became noticed. He had his first exhibition in 1920 at the Parisian gallery ''Mouninou'', followed in 1924 by a first exhibition in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
at the Amsterdam artist's society '' De Kring''. When he was about 15 years old he also regularly visited the studio of draftsman
Jules Pascin Julius Mordecai Pincas (March 31, 1885 – June 5, 1930), known as Pascin (; erroneously or ), Jules Pascin, or the "Prince of Montparnasse", was a Bulgarian artist known for his paintings and drawings. He later became an American citizen ...
. He never was a formal apprentice of Pascin, yet learned a lot from him. In particular, he advanced the development of the
transfer technique Fossil preparation is the act of preparing fossil specimens for use in paleontological research or for exhibition, and involves removing the surrounding rocky matrix and cleaning the fossil. Techniques Acid maceration Acid maceration is a techn ...
, a blind drawing technique thought up by Pascin as an experiment in free expression. Kristians Tonny perfected this technique and made it entirely his own.


Life and career until 1939

In 1925 he participated in the first major Surrealist exhibition, the ''Exposition Surréaliste'' at ''Galerie Pierre'' in Paris. Soon after he was regarded as an established artist, favored by the critics of the time and his work being bought by serious collectors. He had befriended Gertrude Stein, the American poet, writer and collector of modern art, whose portrait he painted in 1930, being the second artist after
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 ...
to do so. Stein encouraged him to lease a studio on a long-term contract. A private quarrel lead to a major split between them and he decided to leave for
Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...
,
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
. Part of the reason for Tonny's disagreement with Stein and his departure for Tangier was Stein's disapproval of his relationship with his lover Anita Thompson. Stein tried separating them by arranging for Thompson to lose a job in France and be offered another in Tangier; instead Tonny followed Thompson. After about one year he returned to Europe, staying in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and in the Netherlands before definitively returning to Paris. In the beginning of 1937 he departed, together with his first wife Marie Claire Ivanoff, to whom he was newly married, along with
Paul Bowles Paul Frederic Bowles (; December 30, 1910November 18, 1999) was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator. He became associated with the Moroccan city of Tangier, where he settled in 1947 and lived for 52 years to the end of his ...
and his future wife, the writer Jane Auer, and embarked on a journey that took them to the
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first, and from there to
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and
Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
. In the United States his work was shown in various expositions. He sold work to collectors and museums and was assigned to paint a series of murals in a theater in Hartford,
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 ...
. The journey to Mexico meant the fulfillment of a long-held wish for him and from this time forward the Mexican landscape was never to disappear from his work. It was a turning point in his artistic development. During the late 1930s Surrealist exhibitions were held in a number of major European cities and together with
Georges Hugnet Georges Hugnet (11 July 1906 – 26 June 1974) was a French graphic artist. He was also active as a poet, writer, art historian, bookbinding designer, critic and film director. Hugnet was a figure in the Dada movement and Surrealism. He was the a ...
, Kristians Tonny was involved in organizing the first international Surrealist exhibition in the Netherlands, held in the art gallery owned by his parents, ''Galerie Robert'' in Amsterdam. Although a major event, the exhibition was not a complete success. The reason for this was that, with the exception of Kristians Tonny, no Dutch Surrealists (such as J.H. Moesman, Willem Wagenaar and Emile van Moerkerken) were invited. The reason for this being that Georges Hugnet didn't believe that, with the exception of Kristians Tonny, there were any Dutch Surrealists. Among those that did participate were
André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') o ...
, Max Ernst,
Paul Eluard Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
, E.L.T. Mésens and others. As a consequence, in the Netherlands a major interest in Surrealism didn't happen until the 1960s, something that, after his return to the Netherlands in 1949, proved to be a major inconvenience to Kristians Tonny in finding an audience for his work.


Life and career after 1939

During the Second World War Tonny stayed mostly in the south of France. He and his wife tried to emigrate to the United States, but, in spite of all the formalities having been completed, the journey didn't happen for reasons both financial and political. During the war, he did manage to take part in expositions in
Monte-Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
, even having one of his own there in 1942. In 1944 he returned to Paris where he resumed his pre-war life again. He sold his works, made book illustrations and painted murals in the newly built casino in St. Malo. Having divorced from his wife Marie Claire, he lived together with Françoise Henry, with whom he had two daughters. In spite of this, he had difficulties, one reason being that the pre-war art scene in Paris had become non-existent. Additionally, private life difficulties led to an episode during which he sank into deep depression. In 1949 he settled in Amsterdam, after having spent over 30 years abroad, and he married a second time, this time to Eeke van der Schaaf. From this marriage one daughter was born. He led a reclusive existence in the Netherlands and was not able to properly engage with the Dutch art community of that period, this being due, in some part, to the lack of interest in Surrealism at the time. In spite of this, he remained very productive until several years before his death and he made in these years what many consider to be his finest work. Due to acceptance of his work not forthcoming, he became ever less well known, something that is persisting into the present.See also
Vers Geperst 41 - 4-11-2005
In 1977 he died in Paris, as a consequence of
pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
that went unrecognized. Since his death Tonny remains an artist known only to a limited audience; rarely any original works from his hand are on show, either at auctions or at exhibitions, and it is reputed that many works remain unlocated, with only photographs surviving, though this is certainly not true.


See also

*
Transfer technique Fossil preparation is the act of preparing fossil specimens for use in paleontological research or for exhibition, and involves removing the surrounding rocky matrix and cleaning the fossil. Techniques Acid maceration Acid maceration is a techn ...


References

* Frida de Jong, Laurens Vancrevel (1978). ''Kristians Tonny'': Meulenhoff.


Notes


External links


Dedicated website
including an extensive gallery of drawings and paintings. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tonny, Kristians Dutch painters Dutch male painters Painters from Paris 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters 1907 births 1977 deaths Dutch surrealist artists French surrealist artists