Thread by @EllyHB

Stop worrying about whatever and look at THIS THING

It is called Conglomeros and is by Victor Brauner from 1945-1946. The last pic is the artist just chillin’ in front of it.

Born in Romania in 1903, Brauner’s first works resembled Cézannesque landscapes; then, he testified, he went through all the stages: "Dadaist, Abstractionist, Expressionist"

(Self Portrait, 1923; Portrait of Sașa Pană, 1930; Suicide at Dawn, 1931; Head of Benjamin Fondane, 1931)

Brauner moved to Paris in 1930 where he met Brâncuși and Tanguy, who introduced him to the gang of Surrealists. He also lived in the same building as Giacometti.

(The Reappearance of Hypergenesis, 1932; The Turning Point of Thirst, 1934; Conspiration, 1934; Dancing Girl, 1934)

André Breton wrote an enthusiastic introduction to the catalogue for Brauner’s first Parisian solo show in 1934, but the show was not well-received. Brauner went back to Bucharest to regroup.

(Portrait of André Breton, 1934; The Glowworm, 1933; Luxury Air, 1934; Untitled, 1934)

Back in Bucharest, Brauner joined the ranks of the Romanian Communist Party for a short while, without very firm conviction. He also exhibited with the local Surrealists. He returned to Paris in 1938.

(Trio, 1937; The Fiancée of the Night, 1937; Antithesis, 1937; Chimera, 1939)

A recurring theme in Brauner’s art is distorted human figures with mutilated eyes, which turned out gruesomely prophetic when he LOST HIS LEFT EYE IN A FIGHT in Paris in 1938.

(Self Portrait, 1931; Composition with Portrait, 1930s; Painted from Nature, 1937; The Last Trip, 1937)

Before WWII, Brauner decided not to re-apply for citizenship—a new requirement for Jews living in France. It was a good move given what was to come, plus the unflattering portrait he’d done of Hitler

(Hitler, 1934; Au Crepescule, 1938; Mitsi, 1939; The Philosopher’s Stone, 1940)

When war broke out, Brauner had no choice – as a Jew, an undocumented foreigner and an opponent of fascism – but to go underground in the South of France

(The Inner Life (Nude and Spectral Still Life), 1939; La Mémoire, 1940; Extreme Reconciliation, 1941; L'animal Manuel, 1943)

In hiding, he sought to ward off constant danger via the tarot, alchemy, spiritism, and the kabbala. In a dream world where reality no longer held sway, his art took on new mystery.

(Head, 1944; La Pétrification de la Papesse, 1945; Miroir de l'Ingree, 1945; Poet in Exile, 1946)

After WWII, Brauner went back to Paris. His postwar painting incorporated forms and symbols based on Tarot cards, Egyptian hieroglyphics, and antique Mexican codices.

(Coup of Doubt, 1946; The Surrealist, 1947; Anagogia, 1947; Consciousness of Shock, 1951)

Brauner died in 1966. His gravestone epitaph is from his notebook: “Peindre, c'est la vie, la vraie vie, ma vie” (“Painting is life, true life, my life”)

(Septième sens, 1948; Autobiographical Painting, 1948; Prelude to a Civilization, 1954; Reconstruction de l'Être aime, 1959)

The painter’s private notebooks were found to partly disclose the "key" of his creation: "Each painting that I make is projected from the deepest sources of my anxiety..."

(Hypnotic Rupture, 1960; Espace de L'Esprit, 1961; Double Head, 1963; Le Lien Secret, 1964)

Bonus weird thing: an odd piece of taxidermy Brauner created in 1939 called Loup-table (or Wolf-Table) inspired by two of his paintings depicting an angry wolf incorporated into a table. Photo is Brauner presenting it at the International Exhibition of Surrealism in Paris in 1947

So—teeing up a thread and having the entire thing burst forth fully formed with the touch of the tweet button is trippy. Photos are a bit blurry but too late now. There is a surprise in here that will make it obvious if anyone actually reads this. Or if I truly tweet just for me.