Facile

Paris, GLM, (24 octobre) 1935.
1 vol. (185 x 245 mm) unpaginated. In sheets, with cover illustrated by Man Ray.

First edition.
Illustrated with 12 heliogravure photographs by Man Ray.
One of 1,200 copies on vellum (no. 332).

We apologize for the imperfect translation generated by Deepl for the purposes of the show.

Paul Éluard, Man Ray and Guy Levis Mano are brought together around five poems and twelve photographs, to create a milestone in illustrated publishing and mark the reawakening of eroticism in the art of the 1930s, where, in Man Ray’s nudes, the body never appears in its entirety. The entire head is shown only once; the eyes, never. ‘It is because of the integration of the images with the text that this work was fundamental to modernism and a source of inspiration for generations of graphic designers’ (Parr & Badger).

This cult work of the Surrealists forms, according to Parr and Badger, a perfect ménage à trois, uniting poetry, photography and typography, the whole celebrating love and Nusch’s body. ‘This small has come to be regarded as one of the iconic French photobooks of the 1930s by virtue of its inclusion in many exhibitions devoted to the Surrealist movement […] Man Ray’s pictures of Nusch are appropriately simple, either done in high key tones, often solarised, or mysteriously dark and backlit’ (Parr-Badger).

A very fine copy, in perfect condition.