Andre Breton

Andre Breton, born the 19th February 1896-28th September 1966 was a french literate, poet and seen as one of the main founders of the surrealist movement. From a young age he enjoyed the study of mental illness and attended medical school. However, when WW1 began his studies where interrupted and he went to work in the psychiatric wards of military school. He derived many of his inspiritations from symbolist poetes such as charles baudelaire and arthur rimbaud. He joined the surrealist movement in the early 1920's, the freedom of expression fascinated him - he published a book in 1924 called 'Le Manifeste du Surrealisme' translated as The Manifesto of Surrealism. He encouraged works by Picasso, Joan Miro and Max Ernst by reproducing their works in a book called La Revolution Surrealiste.

A snippet from one of his books Les Champs translated into English is:

It was the end of sorrow lies. The rail stations were dead, flowing like bees stung from honeysuckle. The people hung back and watched the ocean, animals flew in and out of focus. The time had come. Yet king dogs never grow old – they stay young and fit, and someday they might come to the beach and have a few drinks, a few laughs, and get on with it. But not now. The time had come; we all knew it. But who would go first?