''Littérature'' was a literary and

surrealistic 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 ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

edited by

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'') ...

Philippe Soupault Philippe Soupault (2 August 1897 – 12 March 1990) was a French writer and poet, novelist, critic, and political activist. He was active in Dadaism and later was instrumental in founding the Surrealist movement with André Breton. Soupault ini ...

, and

Louis Aragon Louis Aragon (; 3 October 1897 – 24 December 1982) was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the Surrealism, surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review ''Littératur ...

. Its first issue was published on March 19, 1919. Dwindling circulation would prompt Breton to terminate publication after the August 1921 issue. In March 1922, he relaunched and rebranded the review with a recurring cover depicting a

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, ...

drawing of a shiny top hat, and the title, "''Littérature'': New Series." The new direction of the review would eventually be solely under the direction of Breton after the departure of Aragon and Soupault. Breton would have the cover image created by Man Ray replaced by new drawings each month created by

Francis Picabia Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, writer, filmmaker, magazine publisher, poet, and typography, typographist closely associated with Dada. When consid ...

, to whom he gave carte blanche. Picabia drew on religious imagery, erotic iconography, and the iconography of games of chance. In 1923, the magazine was incurring reduced sales so Breton decided to limit the publication to special issues. The first appeared on October 15, 1923; the next appeared in June 1924, and no others followed.Mark Polizzotti, Revolution of the Mind, (1995) pages 93-94, 160, 173, 196.

Exhibitions

"Man Ray, Picabia et la revue Littérature (1922-1924)" 2 July - 15 September 2014 at

Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

References

1919 establishments in France 1924 disestablishments in France Defunct literary magazines published in France French-language magazines Magazines established in 1919 Magazines disestablished in 1924 Surrealist magazines {{italic title