Louis Aragon (Primary Title)
Man Ray, American, 1890 - 1976 (Artist)
The French poet, novelist, and journalist Louis Aragon (1897–1982) was one of the founders of the international Surrealist movement in 1924, having previously played an active role in Paris Dada. Aragon met André Breton seven years earlier, when they were medical students mobilized into the French army during World War I. After completing his war service, Aragon joined Breton and fellow poet Philippe Soupault in founding the Dada journal Littérature in 1919. By 1925, when he posed for this portrait, Aragon had turned his attention to Surrealism and, in the following year, published the acclaimed Surrealist novel Le Paysan de Paris (Paris Peasant), which celebrated the marvelous and irrational aspects of daily life in the French capital. Aragon’s determination to combine art and politics—as he did in the provocative poem Front Rouge (Red Front), which earned him a suspended five-year prison sentence for inciting French troops to mutiny—led to his permanent break with the Surrealist group in 1932.
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
