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{{Short description|Belgian artist and writer (1903–1971)}}
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'''ELT Mesens''' (Edouard Léon Théodore) (27 November 1903 – 1971) was a [[Belgian]] artist and writer associated with the [[Belgian Surrealist]] movement.
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = E. L. T. Mesens
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Édouard Léon Théodore Mesens
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1903|11|27}}
| birth_place = Brussels, Belgium
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1971|05|13|1903|11|27}}
| death_place = Brussels, Belgium
| other_names =
| known_for = Belgian [[Surrealist]] movement
| occupation = artist, writer
}}
[[File:Victor Servranckx 011.JPG|thumb|Belgian artists at the home of Victor Servranckx (June 1922); from left to right: (top) René Magritte, E.L.T. Mesens, Victor Servranckx, Pierre-Louis Flouquet, Pierre Bourgeois; (bottom) Georgette Berger, Pierre Broodcoorens, Henriette Flouquet]]
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'''Édouard Léon Théodore Mesens''' (27 November 1903 – 13 May 1971) was a Belgian artist and writer associated with the Belgian [[Surrealist]] movement.


== Biography ==
==Biography==
⚫
Mesens was born in Brussels, Belgium. He started his artistic career as a musician influenced by [[Erik Satie]] and an author of [[dada]]ist poems. He was a publisher of the books ''Œesophage'' and ''Marie''with his lifetime friend and soulmate [[René Magritte]]. His activity as one of the leaders of the [[surrealist]] movement in Belgium was eased by him being an owner of a gallery, where he organised the first surrealist exhibition in Belgium in 1934. He also went to co-organise the [[London International Surrealist Exhibition]], which made him settle in London. There he became the director of the London Gallery (which he ran during the late 1930s and after the war with [[Roland Penrose]]) and the chief editor of the ''[[London Bulletin]]'' (1938–1940), which was one of the most important bulletins among the English-language Surrealist periodicals.<ref name="Král">{{Cite book |last=Král |first=Petr |title=Mramor se jí studený |trans-title=Marble Tastes Best when Cold |page=113}}</ref>


Mesens died in 1971 following a "long, lingering, painful illness".<ref name=Rosemont>Franklin Rosemont, "E.L.T. Mesens", in ''Radical America'', vol. 6, no. 1 (Jan.–Feb. 1972), pp. 103–107.</ref> According to an obituary published by poet and historian [[Franklin Rosemont]], Mesens committed "suicide by [[absinthe]]", drinking himself to death by wilfully disregarding doctors' orders to abstain from alcohol.<ref name=Rosemont />
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He started his artistic career as a musician influenced by [[Erik Satie]] and an author of [[dada]]ist poems. He was a publisher of the books ''Œesophage'' and ''Marie'', both with his lifetime friend and soulmate [[René Magritte]]. His activity as one of the leaders of the surrealist movement in Belgium was eased by the fact that he was an owner of a gallery, where he organised the first surrealist exhibition in Belgium in 1934. As its organiser, he also went to co-organise the [[London International Surrealist Exhibition]] which made him settle down in London. There he became the director of the London Gallery (which he ran during the late 30s and after the war with [[Roland Penrose]]) and the chief editor of the ''London Bulletin'' (1938–1940) - which was one of the most important bulletins among the English-language Surrealist periodicals <ref name="Král">{{cite book |last=Král|first=Petr|title=''Mramor se jí studený'' (''Marble tastes best when cold'')|page=113 }}</ref>.

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A biography of Mesens by [[George Melly]], ''Don't Tell Sybil: An Intimate Memoir of E.L.T. Mesens'', was published in 1997.

=== Bibliography ===


==Works==
* ''Alphabet sourd aveugle'' - Flamel, Brussels - with preface and a note by [[Paul Éluard]] (1933)
* ''Alphabet sourd aveugle'' - Flamel, Brussels - with preface and a note by [[Paul Éluard]] (1933)
* ''Troisième Front'' - London Gallery Editions (1944)
* ''Troisième Front'' - London Gallery Editions (1944)
* ''Free Unions - Unions Libres'' - Directed by [[Simon Watson Taylor (surrealist)|Simon Watson Taylor]] (1946)
* ''Free Unions - Unions Libres'' - Directed by [[Simon Watson Taylor (surrealist)|Simon Watson Taylor]] (1946)
* ''The Cubist Spirit In Its Time'' - London Gallery Editions - with [[Robert Melville]] (1947)
* ''The Cubist Spirit in Its Time'' - London Gallery Editions - with [[Robert Melville (art critic)|Robert Melville]] (1947)
* ''Poèmes, 1923-1958'' - Le Terrain Vague (1959)
* ''Poèmes, 1923–1958'' - Le Terrain Vague (1959)


=== References ===
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist}}


==Further reading==
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=== External links ===
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* [[George Melly]]: ''Don't Tell Sybil: An Intimate Memoir of E. L. T. Mesens'' (1997).

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==External links==
* [http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ArtistWorks?cgroupid=999999961&artistid=1624&page=1 Tate Collection] - Four works by ELT Mesens
* [http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ArtistWorks?cgroupid=999999961&artistid=1624&page=1 Tate Collection] - Four works by ELT Mesens
* [http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/tf267n98mf Inventory of the ELT Mesens papers] - at the Getty Research Institute
* [http://archives2.getty.edu:8082/xtf/view?docId=ead/920094/920094.xml Inventory of the E. L. T. Mesens papers] - at the Getty Research Institute


{{Surrealism}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mesens, ELT}}
{{ACArt}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mesens, E L T}}
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1971 deaths]]
[[Category:1971 deaths]]
[[Category:Belgian artists]]
[[Category:Belgian surrealist writers]]
[[Category:Belgian writers in French]]
[[Category:Belgian writers in French]]
[[Category:Belgian artists]]
[[Category:1971 suicides]]
[[Category:Surrealist writers]]
[[Category:Belgian expatriates in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Belgian art dealers]]

[[fr:E. L. T. Mesens]]
[[Category:British art dealers]]

Latest revision as of 11:33, 28 October 2024

E. L. T. Mesens
Born
Édouard Léon Théodore Mesens

(1903-11-27)27 November 1903
Brussels, Belgium
Died13 May 1971(1971-05-13) (aged 67)
Brussels, Belgium
Occupation(s)artist, writer
Known forBelgian Surrealist movement
Belgian artists at the home of Victor Servranckx (June 1922); from left to right: (top) René Magritte, E.L.T. Mesens, Victor Servranckx, Pierre-Louis Flouquet, Pierre Bourgeois; (bottom) Georgette Berger, Pierre Broodcoorens, Henriette Flouquet

Édouard Léon Théodore Mesens (27 November 1903 – 13 May 1971) was a Belgian artist and writer associated with the Belgian Surrealist movement.

Biography

[edit]

Mesens was born in Brussels, Belgium. He started his artistic career as a musician influenced by Erik Satie and an author of dadaist poems. He was a publisher of the books Œesophage and Mariewith his lifetime friend and soulmate René Magritte. His activity as one of the leaders of the surrealist movement in Belgium was eased by him being an owner of a gallery, where he organised the first surrealist exhibition in Belgium in 1934. He also went to co-organise the London International Surrealist Exhibition, which made him settle in London. There he became the director of the London Gallery (which he ran during the late 1930s and after the war with Roland Penrose) and the chief editor of the London Bulletin (1938–1940), which was one of the most important bulletins among the English-language Surrealist periodicals.[1]

Mesens died in 1971 following a "long, lingering, painful illness".[2] According to an obituary published by poet and historian Franklin Rosemont, Mesens committed "suicide by absinthe", drinking himself to death by wilfully disregarding doctors' orders to abstain from alcohol.[2]

Works

[edit]
  • Alphabet sourd aveugle - Flamel, Brussels - with preface and a note by Paul Éluard (1933)
  • Troisième Front - London Gallery Editions (1944)
  • Free Unions - Unions Libres - Directed by Simon Watson Taylor (1946)
  • The Cubist Spirit in Its Time - London Gallery Editions - with Robert Melville (1947)
  • Poèmes, 1923–1958 - Le Terrain Vague (1959)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Král, Petr. Mramor se jí studený [Marble Tastes Best when Cold]. p. 113.
  2. ^ a b Franklin Rosemont, "E.L.T. Mesens", in Radical America, vol. 6, no. 1 (Jan.–Feb. 1972), pp. 103–107.

Further reading

[edit]
  • George Melly: Don't Tell Sybil: An Intimate Memoir of E. L. T. Mesens (1997).
[edit]
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