Jean de Bosschère
Encyclopedia
Jean de Bosschère was a Belgian writer and painter.
, where Jean spent a tormented childhood full of affection for his disfigured sister Marthe, described in Marthe et l'Enragé. In 1893, Jean attended the Ecole d'Horticulture in Ghent
. In 1894 the family moved to Antwerp, where Jean attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts from 1896 to 1900.
Between 1901 and 1905 he regularly visited Paris where he met writers with a passion for the occult. On 25 March 1905 he married Jeanne Fanny Alexandra Jones, from whom he was separated officially in 1923. From 1905-1914, he wrote regular articles for the magazine L'Occident and L'Art Flamand et Hollandaise. From 1907 he also wrote several monographs, especially on Flemish art. In 1909 he published his first collection of poetry, Béâle-Gryne, which he illustrated himself. The style of these illustrations, as well as his later work, was a version of Art Nouveau
heavily influenced by the drawings of Aubrey Beardsley
. He was also influenced by the Roman Catholic spiritual works of French poet and dramatist Paul Claudel
, whom he saw lecture in 1909. Then in 1912, he was accused of Satanism in response to his first novel, Dolorine et les Ombres (1911). In 1909, he began a lifelong friendship with the Antwerp Symbolist poet Max Elskamp (of whom in 1914 he published a critical study), and in 1911 the French writer Andre Suares. Around 1912 he underwent a moral and emotional crisis, and he distanced himself from Symbolism. In 1914 he made a trip to Italy.
In 1915 when the war broke out, he fled from Belgium and went to London where he met writers such as John Gould Fletcher
, Aldous Huxley
and D. H. Lawrence
, and Imagist
poets such as Ezra Pound
, TS Eliot and Richard Aldington. He met several London publishers for whom he illustrated numerous books in the '20s and '30s. Among the books he illustrated were the poems of Oscar Wilde
and Charles Baudelaire
, but also erotic classic authors such as Aristophanes
, Ovid
, Strato and Apuleius
. In 1920 he moved in with his beloved Vera Anne Hamilton, but she died in January 1922. At the end of 1922 he left London with Élisabeth d'Ennetières, with whom he would stay for the rest of his life. They settled in Albano, near Rome. In the winter of 1925-26 they lived in Brussels, then from March 1926 in Paris, where he met Antonin Artaud
. They also stayed regularly Solaia near Siena
in Italy, where De Bosschere worked on his many novels and poetry collections.
The work of De Bosschere was marked by a persistent spiritual seeking in his life he developed a fascination with the occult, the spiritual, the obscure and the sexual. He gave himself the nickname "Satan" and "l'Obscure", which formed the title of Satan l'Obscure (1933), his second autobiographical novel after Marthe et l'Enragé.
The 30s were difficult for De Bosschere. He wrote several novels that he regarded as failures and found little illustration work due to the poor economic climate. He decided to lead a secluded life. From 1938 he lived so in La Châtre
in central France. He kept a diary from 1946 titled Journal d'un Rebelle Solitaire that has remained unreleased. He also made two anthologies of most of his poetry: Derniers poèmes de l'Obscur (1948) and Héritiers de l'abime (1950).
In September 1952 he received the Prix de la Méditerranée and in November the Mandat des Poètes. A year later he died at the age of 74 in the hospital in Châteauroux. Already, following his death several works published, but is much work of this prolific writer has remained unpublished. This is kept in the Archives et Musée de la littérature in Brussels.
Biography
Bosschère was born in Uccle, the son of Charles de Bosschere and Nancy Marie Hélène Van der Stock. In 1884 the family moved to LierLier, Belgium
Lier is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Lier proper and the village of Koningshooikt. On January 1, 2010 Lier had a total population of 33,930. The total area is 49.70 km² which gives a population density of 669 inhabitants per...
, where Jean spent a tormented childhood full of affection for his disfigured sister Marthe, described in Marthe et l'Enragé. In 1893, Jean attended the Ecole d'Horticulture in Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
. In 1894 the family moved to Antwerp, where Jean attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts from 1896 to 1900.
Between 1901 and 1905 he regularly visited Paris where he met writers with a passion for the occult. On 25 March 1905 he married Jeanne Fanny Alexandra Jones, from whom he was separated officially in 1923. From 1905-1914, he wrote regular articles for the magazine L'Occident and L'Art Flamand et Hollandaise. From 1907 he also wrote several monographs, especially on Flemish art. In 1909 he published his first collection of poetry, Béâle-Gryne, which he illustrated himself. The style of these illustrations, as well as his later work, was a version of Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
heavily influenced by the drawings of Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Vincent Beardsley was an English illustrator and author. His drawings, done in black ink and influenced by the style of Japanese woodcuts, emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement which also included Oscar Wilde and James A....
. He was also influenced by the Roman Catholic spiritual works of French poet and dramatist Paul Claudel
Paul Claudel
Paul Claudel was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism.-Life:...
, whom he saw lecture in 1909. Then in 1912, he was accused of Satanism in response to his first novel, Dolorine et les Ombres (1911). In 1909, he began a lifelong friendship with the Antwerp Symbolist poet Max Elskamp (of whom in 1914 he published a critical study), and in 1911 the French writer Andre Suares. Around 1912 he underwent a moral and emotional crisis, and he distanced himself from Symbolism. In 1914 he made a trip to Italy.
In 1915 when the war broke out, he fled from Belgium and went to London where he met writers such as John Gould Fletcher
John Gould Fletcher
John Gould Fletcher was an Imagist poet and author. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas to a socially prominent family. After attending Phillips Academy, Andover Fletcher went on to Harvard University from 1903 to 1907, when he dropped out shortly after his father's death.Fletcher lived in...
, Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
and D. H. Lawrence
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
, and Imagist
Imagism
Imagism was a movement in early 20th-century Anglo-American poetry that favored precision of imagery and clear, sharp language. The Imagists rejected the sentiment and discursiveness typical of much Romantic and Victorian poetry. This was in contrast to their contemporaries, the Georgian poets,...
poets such as Ezra Pound
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic and a major figure in the early modernist movement in poetry...
, TS Eliot and Richard Aldington. He met several London publishers for whom he illustrated numerous books in the '20s and '30s. Among the books he illustrated were the poems of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
and Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire was a French poet who produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the nineteenth century...
, but also erotic classic authors such as Aristophanes
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
, Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
, Strato and Apuleius
Apuleius
Apuleius was a Latin prose writer. He was a Berber, from Madaurus . He studied Platonist philosophy in Athens; travelled to Italy, Asia Minor and Egypt; and was an initiate in several cults or mysteries. The most famous incident in his life was when he was accused of using magic to gain the...
. In 1920 he moved in with his beloved Vera Anne Hamilton, but she died in January 1922. At the end of 1922 he left London with Élisabeth d'Ennetières, with whom he would stay for the rest of his life. They settled in Albano, near Rome. In the winter of 1925-26 they lived in Brussels, then from March 1926 in Paris, where he met Antonin Artaud
Antonin Artaud
Antoine Marie Joseph Artaud, more well-known as Antonin Artaud was a French playwright, poet, actor and theatre director...
. They also stayed regularly Solaia near Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
in Italy, where De Bosschere worked on his many novels and poetry collections.
The work of De Bosschere was marked by a persistent spiritual seeking in his life he developed a fascination with the occult, the spiritual, the obscure and the sexual. He gave himself the nickname "Satan" and "l'Obscure", which formed the title of Satan l'Obscure (1933), his second autobiographical novel after Marthe et l'Enragé.
The 30s were difficult for De Bosschere. He wrote several novels that he regarded as failures and found little illustration work due to the poor economic climate. He decided to lead a secluded life. From 1938 he lived so in La Châtre
La Châtre
La Châtre is a commune in the Indre department in central France.-People:*It was the birth place of Henri de Latouche and Emile Acollas. André Boillot the auto racing driver crashed here in 1932 and died from his injuries....
in central France. He kept a diary from 1946 titled Journal d'un Rebelle Solitaire that has remained unreleased. He also made two anthologies of most of his poetry: Derniers poèmes de l'Obscur (1948) and Héritiers de l'abime (1950).
In September 1952 he received the Prix de la Méditerranée and in November the Mandat des Poètes. A year later he died at the age of 74 in the hospital in Châteauroux. Already, following his death several works published, but is much work of this prolific writer has remained unpublished. This is kept in the Archives et Musée de la littérature in Brussels.
External links
- The City Curious, Project Gutenberg eBook