The quiet woman of Surrealist Paris

March 16, 2010 7:31 AM

Nusch Éluard was The Surrealists' enigmatic muse. She was a model for Man Ray and Picasso and Lee Miller. In fact All the boys loved Nusch. Perhaps the most ethereal portrait was taken by photographer Dora Maar (previously). Here is tumblir tagged page and Orchid-thief. ( As this is Surrealism and Paris in the early C20th – this FPP is considered NSFW in some environments. )
posted by adamvasco (10 comments total)

Looks like the biography isn't out in English (yet), which is a shame.
posted by immlass at 8:10 AM on March 16, 2010

I wonder how deeply the biography delves into her own artistic inclinations. I would be interested to see these "Surrealist collages" and any other art she made.
posted by Houyhnhnm at 8:13 AM on March 16, 2010

I wish we would hear more about Dadaist and Surrealist women in general. I mean, Kiki de Montparnasse, Hannah Höch, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, and even Lee Miller are often honored more for being portrayed by men than being artists in their own right, which is a shame.
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:30 AM on March 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

In recent years a number of good publications have come out highlighting the women of the Surrealist movement, finally giving them their due. It's good to see this biography continue that trend.
posted by aletheia at 12:16 PM on March 16, 2010

An interesting side note I found in the page on Mme. Eluard:

‘It is said,’ Jacqueline Goddard conceded to me circumspectly, ‘that Man Ray started with pornography. And I have seen recently a photograph of Kiki’s mouth on Man Ray’s private parts.’

...For successive waves of scholars, the methods by which Brooklyn-raised Emmanuel Radnitski hustled himself into a new existence as Man Ray, photographer by appointment to the Surrealists, have proved a little too close to the bone. Indeed, to pursue the metaphor to its conclusion, these methods are proving to be the skeleton in Man Ray’s closet.

(Source)

Personally, I'm shocked - shocked! - that a photographer with the talent, proclivity, and productivity of Man Ray could possibly have used the sacred instruments of his art for base purposes.

Why, it's as if Anais Nin had stooped to writing tawdry erotica for anonymous buyers, or a great performer like Julie Andrews had lowered herself to accepting prurient topless roles in movies. Unthinkable!
posted by IAmBroom at 2:26 PM on March 16, 2010 [2 favorites]

Having been unaware of Nusch, I wondered if Gala Dali had gone by another name.

The Surrealists were perhaps more interesting than their work.
posted by adoarns at 2:41 PM on March 16, 2010

You are reading this comment. I wrote this comment. I know a man who met Nusch Éluard. Nusch Éluard is Nusch Éluard. That is your minimum linkage to Nusch Éluard.
posted by eccnineten at 5:46 PM on March 16, 2010

Gala Éluard, Paul Éluard and Ernst spent three years in a ménage à trois, before Gala moved on to Dali in 1929. Nusch met Paul Éluard in 1930.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:00 PM on March 16, 2010

GenjiandProust - Angels of Anarchy might be of interest to you; and relates to this recently finished exhibition.
posted by adamvasco at 1:53 AM on March 17, 2010

An excellent reference on the long line of great women artists associated with the Surrealists is Whitney Chadwick's "Women Artists and the Surrealist Movement". The title is carefully chosen as many of them did not consider themselves surrealists per se, or later distanced themselves from the movement.
posted by zymoglyphic at 2:14 PM on March 17, 2010