Henri, 8th Duke D'Ursel
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Henri Charles Francis Joseph Marie, 8th Duke d'Ursel (Henri, 8th Duke d'Ursel) (18 November 1900 – 31 May 1974, in Uccle) was a Belgian film director and writer. Henri d'Ursel was known for his surrealist style, directing the film ''La Perle'' early in his career.


Family

Henri d'Ursel was born in
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 ...
, son of the 7th duke of Ursel. During the 1920s, he lived in Paris at the height of the
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 ...
and
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
movements. He married princess Antoinette, the daughter of
Louis Charles Marie de La Trémoille Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...
, the 10th Duke of Thouars. He became the brother-in-law of
Charlotte de La Trémoille Charlotte most commonly refers to: *Charlotte (given name), a feminine form of the given name Charles ** Princess Charlotte (disambiguation) ** Queen Charlotte (disambiguation) *Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, a city *Charlotte (cake), ...
and
Louis Jean Marie de La Trémoille Prince Louis Jean Marie de La Trémoïlle, 11th Duke of Thouars (8 February 1910 – 9 December 1933) was a French aristocrat. He was the 11th Duke of Thouars and 10th Duke of La Trémoïlle, 13th Prince of Tarente, 17th Prince of Talmond and 1 ...
. They both separated and the marriage was annulled in Rome on 5 June 1936.État présent de la noblesse belge, Annuaire 2013, Brussel, 2013 p.5 After he inherited D'Ursel Castle he decided in 1970 to sell the large family estate, since generations in the family. In 1973 the local government of Hingene acquired the ducal estate for €372,000. He left the castle completely empty after he took all the valuable furniture out and deposed the complete family archive in the National Archives of Brussels. He was succeeded by his son Antonin, 9th Duke d'Ursel. The current Duke of Ursel, Stéphane, is his grandson.


Film career

In 1929 he wrote ''La Perle'', under the pseudonym "Henri d'Arches" (the duke of Ursel is
Prince of Arches and Charleville Prince of Arches and Charleville is a noble title associated with Charleville-Mézières in France and now held by the Duke of Ursel in Belgium. The title originates with Charles Gonzaga (Gonzagues), Duke of Mantua, who was also Duke of Rethel, a t ...
), based on a story by Georges Hugnet. Of the filmmaking experience, D'Ursel later said it was made "in the flush of inexperience." Returning to Belgium, in 1937 d'Ursel and Louis Camu founded ''Le Prix de l’Image'', a precursor to film festivals of experimental cinema. At the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he and Luc Haesaerts founded ''Le Séminaire des Arts'', a prestigious Belgian film club, and precursor of the ''Musée du cinéma de Bruxelles''. D'Ursel was a friend of both
Charles Dekeukeleire Charles Dekeukeleire (27 February 1905 – 2 June 1971) was a Belgian film director. He pioneered modern Belgian film with Henri Storck. He was inspired by French avant-garde cinema, particularly the works of Germaine Dulac. Biography Dekeuke ...
and Henri Storck. He was for 25 years vice-president of the Belgian Royal Film Archive, until his death in 1974.


Honours

* Knight of the
Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...
. * Knight of the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
. * Officer of the
Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...
.


See also

*
Duke of Ursel The House of Ursel is the name of an old Belgian noble family of German origin . The Head of the House is styled as Duke of Ursel, while other members are styled as Count/Countess of Ursel. History The Ursel family roots are in S ...
*
Cinema of Belgium Cinema of Belgium refers to the film industry based in Belgium. Belgium is essentially a bi-lingual country divided into the Flemish ( Dutch-speaking) north and the French-speaking south. There is also a small community of German speakers in th ...
*
Surrealist cinema Surrealist cinema is a modernist approach to film theory, criticism, and production, with origins in Paris in the 1920s. The Surrealist movement used shocking, irrational, or absurd imagery and Freudian dream symbolism to challenge the traditiona ...


References


External links


Belgian Royal Film Archive


Belgian film directors
Hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen, HEN or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in R ...
Belgian experimental filmmakers 1900 births 1974 deaths Members of the Royal Victorian Order Knights of the Legion of Honour {{belgium-film-director-stub