French Literature Reviews - 2026

Anne Foucault, Histoire du surréalisme ignoré (1945-1969). Du déshonneur des poètes au surréalisme éternel.
Art and Visual Culture

Review published in Acta Fabula (February 2026, vol. 27, no. 2) as part of the critical dossier Surréalisme(s): That Obscure Object of Desire: French Surrealism after 1945, by Corentin Bouquet

Parisian Surrealist activity between 1946 and 1969 remains relatively obscure and undervalued compared to the interwar period. Adopting a resolutely collective approach, this study sets out to understand and critique this devaluation. Confronted with early historiographical endeavors contributing to the institutionalization of its past and legacy, Surrealism succeeded in forging new paths in the visual arts—particularly centered around automatism (Simon Hantaï, Adrien Dax), the object (Hervé Télémaque, Konrad Klapheck), and the theorization and practice of magical art (Jean Benoît, Jorge Camacho).

Politically, this same collective approach reveals that following a period of isolation until the mid-1950s, the values championed by the Surrealists gained recognition within intellectual circles, fostered by destalinization and decolonization struggles. This marked the beginning of a series of collaborations whose stakes and challenges shed light on the factors that ultimately led to the group's self-dissolution shortly after May '68.

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Anne Foucault holds a PhD in contemporary art history. Her doctoral dissertation focused on post-war Surrealism, and she has published several articles on the subject in French and international journals. She is currently a research fellow at the National Museum of Modern Art – Centre Pompidou.

While interwar Surrealism has long dominated critical discourse, the movement's post-war trajectory remains frequently overlooked in standard art historical narratives. This volume examines how Parisian Surrealist groups navigated a rapidly changing intellectual and political landscape following the Second World War. By focusing on collective dynamics rather than isolated master figures, the author sheds light on a period marked by both institutional marginalization and vital reinvention, challenging conventional assumptions about the movement's supposed decline after 1945.

The book will prove particularly valuable to scholars of modern art history, intellectual history, and twentieth-century avant-garde movements. It offers essential insights into how Surrealist practitioners engaged with major historical turning points, including destalinization and decolonization struggles. Furthermore, it traces the theoretical and practical developments within magical art and automatism, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of the movement's final decades leading up to its dissolution around May 1968.