Esteban Francés (30 July 1913 – 21 September 1976) was a Spanish

surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

painter.

Biography

Born in

Portbou Portbou () is a town in the Alt Empordà county, in the Province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It has a population of people (). Portbou is located near the French border in the Costa Brava region, and frequently serves as a dropping off point f ...

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

in 1913, he spent his first years in

Figueras Figueres (; ) is the capital city of Alt Empordà county, in the Girona region, Catalonia, Spain. The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Dalí Theatre and Museum, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which att ...

, until 1925, when he moved with his family to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. There he studied Law, but gave up shortly before finishing and instead enrolled at the

Escola de la Llotja The Escola de la Llotja (, "Llotja School"; ), officially the Escola d'Arts i Oficis de Barcelona (Barcelona Arts and Crafts School), is an art and design school located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The school took its name from its initial ...

. Francés was an important member of the surrealist movements in Paris,

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and New York City. He fled the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

and traveled to Paris where he became a member of the surrealist circle that included

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'') ...

Yves Tanguy Raymond Georges Yves Tanguy (January 5, 1900 - January 15, 1955), known as just Yves Tanguy (; ), was a French Surrealist painter. Biography Tanguy was the son of a retired navy captain, and was born January 5, 1900, at the Ministry of Naval Aff ...

Óscar Domínguez Óscar M. Domínguez (aka Oscar Dominguez, Oscar Domínguez Palazón, Oscar Manuel Domínguez Palazón, O. Domínguez, Oscar Manuel Domínguez) (3 January 1906 – 31 December 1957) was a Spanish-born French surrealist painter, commercial artist ...

Victor Brauner Victor Brauner (, also spelled Viktor Brauner; 15 June 1903 – 12 March 1966) was a Romanian painter and sculptor of the surrealism (art), surrealist movement. Early life He was born in Piatra Neamț, Romania, the son of a Jewish timber manufac ...

Roberto Matta Roberto Sebastián Antonio Matta Echaurren (; November 11, 1911 – November 23, 2002), usually known simply as Matta, also as Sebastián Matta or Roberto Matta, was one of Chile's best-known Painting, painters and a seminal figure in 20th ...

and

Gordon Onslow Ford Gordon Onslow Ford (26 December 1912 – 9 November 2003) was one of the last surviving members of the 1930s Paris surrealist group surrounding André Breton. Born in the English town of Wendover in 1912 to a family of artists, Onslow Fo ...

, amongst others. In the 1930s Francés became romantically involved with the important Spanish/ Mexican painter

Remedios Varo María de los Remedios Alicia Rodriga Varo y Uranga (known as Remedios Varo, 16 December 1908 – 8 October 1963) was a Spanish and Mexican surrealist painter. Early life and education María de los Remedios Alicia Rodriga Varo y Uranga was bo ...

. Irène Hamoir re-tells the story of a violent argument, which took place in 1938, between Dominguez,

Louis Scutenaire Louis Scutenaire (29 June 1905 – 15 August 1987) was a Belgian French-language poet, anarchist, surrealist and civil servant. Born Jean Émile Louis Scutenaire in Ollignies, he died in Brussels. Life Louis Scutenaire is chiefly remembered as ...

and Francés. Victor Brauner attempted to protect Francés and was hit by a glass thrown by Domínguez. He was permanently deprived of his left eye as a result. Also present were

Paul Éluard Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his maternal ...

, Georges Hugnet,

Wolfgang Paalen Wolfgang Robert Paalen (July 22, 1905 in Vienna, Austria – September 24, 1959 in Taxco, Mexico) was an Austrian-Mexican painter, sculptor, and Aesthetics, art philosopher. A member of the Abstraction-Création group from 1934 to 1935, he joine ...

Benjamin Péret Benjamin Péret (4 July 1899 – 18 September 1959) was a French poet, Parisian Dadaist, and founder and central member of the French Surrealist movement with his avid use of Surrealist automatism. Biography Benjamin Péret was born in Rezé ...

and Tanguy.Hamoir, I., ''Le Vocatif'', No. 207,

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, March 1980 (8 pages, unnumbered)

Biography

References

External links