Victor Brauner created the painting Self-portrait with enucleated eye years before losing his actual left eye in a 1938 brawl. This event solidified his reputation as a creator of premonitory works. Born in Piatra Neamț in 1903, he moved fluidly between Romanian and French citizenship, operating as a painter, sculptor, and graphic designer within the Surrealist movement.
Early Development and Manifestos
Brauner attended the Bucharest National University of Arts and the Horia Igiroșanu private school. After painting landscapes in the manner of Paul Cézanne, he cycled through Dadaism, Abstractionism, and Expressionism. In 1924, he held his first exhibition at the Mozart Galleries. Alongside poet Ilarie Voronca, he founded the magazine 75HP, where he published manifestos on Pictopoetry and Surrationalism. His early work included canvases like Christ at the Cabaret and The Girl in the Factory.
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Moving to Paris in 1930, he lived on Moulin Vert Street near Alberto Giacometti and Yves Tanguy. Constantin Brâncuși provided him with instruction in art photography. By 1934, André Breton had written the introduction for his first Parisian solo exhibition at the Pierre Gallery. During this period, Brauner explored themes of the eye and satirical caricatures of the bourgeoisie, mirroring the tone of Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi.
Wartime Displacement and Later Career
During the Nazi invasion of France, he fled Paris for Perpignan and later Saint-Féliu-d'Amont. Despite being forcibly secluded, he maintained contact with Surrealists in Marseille. His later career included a 1954 encaustic work titled Prelude to a civilization, now held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He spent his final years in Varengeville and Athanor, producing ensembles such as Mythologie and Fêtes des mères before his death in 1966.
Fast facts
- Born: 1903, Piatra Neamț, Romania
- Died: 1966, Paris, France
- Movements: Surrealism, Cubism, Expressionism, Futurism, Symbolism
- Naturalized French citizen: 1963
- Resting place: Montmartre Cemetery
- Record auction price: $993,000 for Tableau Autobiographique (2008)
- Occupations: Painter, sculptor, graphic artist, designer
Questions readers ask
What was the significance of the eye in his work?
The eye was a constant, often premonitory theme in his painting, famously appearing in his self-portrait years before he lost his actual left eye during a 1938 argument.
Where is his work located today?
Brauner was prolific, with approximately 3,000 works in French collections alone, including 2,235 pieces housed at the Musée d'art moderne de Saint-Étienne.
Achievements
- Movement: surrealism and Expressionism
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