''La Révolution surréaliste'' (English: ''The Surrealist Revolution'') was a publication by the Surrealists in Paris. Twelve issues were published between 1924 and 1929. Shortly after releasing the first ''

Surrealist Manifesto The Surrealist Manifesto refers to several publications by Yvan Goll and André Breton, leaders of rival Surrealism, surrealist groups. Goll and Breton both published manifestos in October 1924 titled ''Manifeste du surréalisme''. Breton wrote ...

'',

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'') ...

published the inaugural issue of ''La Révolution surréaliste'' on December 1, 1924. Pierre Naville and Benjamin Péret were the initial directors of the publication and modeled the format of the journal on the conservative scientific review ''

La Nature ''La Nature'' (English: ''Nature'') was a French language magazine aimed at the popularization of science established in 1873 by French scientist and adventurer Gaston Tissandier. The magazine also received an enormous amount of time, effort, ...

.'' The format was deceiving, and to the Surrealists' delight, ''La Révolution surréaliste'' was consistently scandalous and revolutionary. The journal focused on writing with most pages densely packed with columns of text, but also included reproductions of art, among them works by Giorgio de Chirico,

Max Ernst Max Ernst (; 2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German-born painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and surrealism in Europe. He had no formal artistic trai ...

André Masson André-Aimé-René Masson (; 4 January 1896 – 28 October 1987) was a French artist. Biography Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Thérain, Oise, but when he was eight his father's work took the family first briefly to Lille and then to Brus ...

and

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American naturalized French visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, ...

Selected issues

Issue 1 (December 1924): The cover of the initial issue announced the revolutionary agenda of ''La Révolution surréaliste'' with, "It is necessary to start work on a new declaration of the rights of man." In a mock scientific fashion the journal explored issues related to the darker sides of the human psyche with articles focused on violence, death and suicide. Detached descriptions of violent crime taken from police reports, and an impartial survey on suicide were included. One spread featured Germaine Berton, recently acquitted of murder, surrounded by male surrealists. Issue 3 (15 April 1925): The third issues was overseen by writer and actor

Antonin Artaud Antoine Maria Joseph Paul Artaud (; ; 4September 18964March 1948), better known as Antonin Artaud, was a French artist who worked across a variety of media. He is best known for his writings, as well as his work in the theatre and cinema. Widely ...

.^:60 The cover of the third issue announced, "End of the Christian Era." Inside articles convey a blasphemous and anticlerical tone. Artaud wrote an open letter, "Address to the Pope," that expressed the revolt against what Surrealists saw as oppressive religious values:

The world is the soul's abyss, warped Pope, Pope foreign to the soul. Let us swim in our own bodies, leave our souls within our souls; we have no need of your knife-blade of enlightenment.

Such anticlerical remarks are found throughout and reflect the group's relentless campaign against oppression and bourgeois morality. Issue 4: Breton announced in the fourth issue that he was taking over the publication. His concern about disruptive factions that had developed in the Surrealist group brought him to assert his power and restate the Surrealist principles as he conceived them. Thereafter, each issue became more political with articles and declarations that have a Communist slant. Issue 8 (December 1926): The growing fascination with sexual perversion is revealed in an article by

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 ...

which celebrates the writings of the

Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade ( ; ; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814) was a French writer, libertine, political activist and nobleman best known for his libertine novels and imprisonment for sex crimes, blasphemy and pornography ...

, who was imprisoned for much of his life because of his deviant writings about sexual cruelty. According to Éluard, the Marquis "wished to give back to civilized man the strength of his primitive instincts." Writing and imagery, influenced by de Sade, by Breton, Man Ray, and

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

was also included. Issues 9 and 10 (October 1927): Introduce Exquisite corpse (Le Cadavre exquis)—a game the Surrealists enjoyed that involves folding a sheet of paper so that several people contribute to the drawing of a figure or writing text without seeing the preceding portions. The issue includes some exquisite corpse results. Issue 11 (): The interest in sex continues in the eleventh issue with "Research into Sexuality," an account of a debate that took place in January 1928. In the frank discussion, more than a dozen Surrealists openly expressed their opinions on sexual matters, including a variety of perversions. Issue 12 (December 1929): Contains Breton's ''Second

''. The declaration marks the end of the group's most cohesive and focused years, and signals the start of disagreements within the group. Breton celebrated his faithful supporters, and denounced those who had defected and betrayed his doctrine. Also contains the full script of '' Un Chien Andalou'' with

Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish and Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians and directors to be one of the greatest and ...

's preface.

After ''La Révolution surréaliste''

Some of the dissidents voiced their views in the periodical ''

Documents A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ', which denotes a "teaching" or "lesson": ...

'' beginning in April 1929. Writings by ethnographers, archaeologists, and art historians, and poets

Georges Bataille Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (; ; 10 September 1897 – 8 July 1962) was a French philosopher and intellectual working in philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history of art. His writing, which included essays, novels, ...

and

Michel Leiris Julien Michel Leiris (; 20 April 1901, Paris – 30 September 1990, Saint-Hilaire, Essonne) was a French surrealist writer and ethnographer. Part of the Surrealist group in Paris, Leiris became a key member of the College of Sociology with Geor ...

emerged as the main contributors. Some of the ''Documents'' contributors went later formed another group,

Acéphale ''Acéphale'' () is the name of a public review created by Georges Bataille (which numbered five issues, from 1936 to 1939) and a secret society formed by Bataille and others who had sworn to keep silent. Its name is derived from the Greek wikt:� ...

. Breton's successor to ''La Révolution surréaliste'' was a more politically engaged publication, '' Le Surrealisme au service de la revolution (Surrealism in the service of the revolution),'' which appeared sporadically between 1930 and 1933. In 1933, publisher

Albert Skira Albert Skira (1904–1973) was a Swiss people, Swiss art dealer, publisher and the founder of the Skira (publisher), Skira publishing house. The Skira publishing house, Editions d'Art Albert Skira Skira founded the Skira (publisher), eponymous p ...

contacted Breton about a new journal, which he planned to be the most luxurious art and literary review the Surrealists had seen, featuring a slick format with many color illustrations. Skira's restriction was that Breton was not allowed to use the magazine to express his social and political views. Later that year ''

Minotaure ''Minotaure'' was a Surrealism, Surrealist-oriented magazine founded by Albert Skira and Tériade, E. Tériade in Paris and published in French between 1933 and 1939. ''Minotaure'' published on the plastic arts, poetry and literature, the avant g ...

'' began publication, and continued publication until 1939.

References

External links

Scanned copies of the journal issues
available from the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Revolution Surrealiste, La 1924 establishments in France 1929 disestablishments in France Defunct magazines published in France French art publications French-language magazines Magazines established in 1924 Magazines disestablished in 1929 Magazines published in Paris Surrealist magazines

Selected issues

After ''La Révolution surréaliste''

See also

References

External links