Surrealism and the Occult: Occultism and Western Esotericism in the Work and Movement of André Breton

by Tessel Bauduin

Overview

This book offers a new perspective on a long-debated issue: the role of the occult in surrealism, in particular under the leadership of French writer André Breton. Based on thorough source analysis, this study details how our understanding of occultism and esotericism, as well as of their function in Bretonian surrealism, changed significantly over time from the early 1920s to the late 1950s.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781041186748
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/01/2025
Edition description:	1
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dr Tessel M. Bauduin is a historian of art and culture. She holds a PhD in the Arts from the University of Amsterdam, and is currently affiliated with the Radboud University, Nijmegen, as a post-doctoral researcher. Her research interests include the historical avant-garde, especially Surrealism; Modernism and occulture; Modernist medievalism.

Table of Contents

Introduction [overview of the field. Analysis of other studies/works on this subject. Explanation of method. Definitions of occultism etc.] I. The time of slumbers [early 1920s. Spiritualism, mediumism, parapsychology. The "Sleeping Sessions". Breton: various essays] II. The period of reason [late 1920s. clairvoyance, seership. Rimbaudian alchemy. Breton: Nadja (1928)] III. The 'Golden Age' [the 1930s. The demand for "the occultation" (2nd Manifesto). Objective chance. Myth. Breton: Mad Love] IV. Intermezzo: Surrealism in arcanum: the war [1938-1945. SUR in the US. Christian heterodox throught. Myth and magic. Breton: Arcanum 17.] V. The international exposition of Surrealism, 1947 [1947ff. The exhibition as display of SUR's occultation. Most occult period in SUR. Breton: L'Art Magique (1957). Alchemy. Petering out of SUR.] Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

"This is easily the best analysis of the complex relationship between Surrealism and Western Esotericism. Based upon thorough research of primary sources, Bauduin shows how the occult became important to André Breton's movement in spite of its secular foundations." — Wouter J. Hanegraaff, Professor of History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents, University of Amsterdam
"An excellent analysis of the impact of esoteric currents on surrealism. Bauduin challenges many of the previous notions about André Breton's intellectual and artistic debt to esotericism, and argues convincingly for the increased importance of esoteric practices to Breton and his circle. This book is destined to become a standard source for the relationship between occultism and art in general, and Bretonian surrealism in particular." — Henrik Bogdan, co-editor of Occultism in a Global Perspective (2013) and associate professor Religious Studies, University of Gothenburg
"Breton gebruikte het occultisme vooral - en met succes - om het surrealisme complex en ontoegankelijk te maken. Met kennis van zaken en door minutieus onderzoek in de primaire en secundaire bronnen draagt de auteur zo bij aan een wetenschappelijke benadering van de zo belangrijke wisselwerking tussen kunstenaars en esoterie, die opgevat kan worden als een van de onderstromen in de twintigste-eeuwse kunst. " —Uit juryrapport van Vereniging van Nederlandse Kunsthistorici (VNK) bij de nominatie voor de Jan van Gelder Prijs in 2013

From the Publisher