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Lot Essay
Par leurs couleurs vives, leur aspect géométrique et leur symbolisme complexe, les poupées Kachina des indiens Hopi ont fasciné les occidentaux et ont servi de source d’inspiration esthétique à plusieurs artistes d’Avant-Garde du XXe siècle. Le peintre expressionniste allemand, Emil Nolde, fut le premier artiste à intégrer l’art indien dans ses compositions. Son tableau Exotische Figuren II exécuté en 1911, dans lequel le personnage principal évoque une poupée Hopi-Kachina en est une illustration éloquente.
Max Ernst, devenu un amoureux inconditionnel des poupées Kachina, en acheta un ensemble important, tel qu’on le voit au milieu de ses figures, photographié en avril 1942 par James Thrall Soby pour un numéro de View, sous le titre de Max among some of his favorite dolls.
En août 1945, André Breton et sa femme Élisa se rendirent en Arizona, pour s’imprégner de l’univers fascinant des Indiens Hopi. Dans son journal intime, Breton décrit la découverte de leur culture, de leur vie rituelle et de leur art : expérience qui le laissera empreint d’une admiration et d’une fascination sans faille pour la culture Hopi. Lors de ce voyage, il fit l’acquisition d’un nombre considérable de poupées Kachina. Il exposera l’ensemble de ses poupées sur l’un des murs de son appartement se situant 42 rue Fontaine.
With their vivid coloring, their suggestive geometric aspect and their complex symbolism Kachina dolls of the Hopi Indians have fascinated the Western eye and have served as a source of aesthetic inspiration to several artists of the XXth century Avant-garde.
The German Expressionist painter Emil Nolde was the first Avant-garde artist to incorporate Indian Art into his compositions. In his painting Exotische Figuren II from 1911, the primary figure is a Hopi-Kachina doll which has been placed between two opposite puma-like cats.
Max Ernst became so enamored of Hopi Kachina dolls that he purchased the entire stock of the Grand Canyon Trading Post, and later posed in a photo taken by James Thrall Soby for a special issue of the American magazine View in April 1942, surrounding by a whole kachinas group as if pretending to be the father of Kachinas. The title of the photo captioned Max Among Some of His Favorite Dolls.
André Breton and his wife Elisa traveled to Arizona in August 1945, where they were immersed into the fascinating universe of the Hopi Indians. Breton kept a detailed diary describing his first-hand discovery of their culture, ritual life and art. This incredible experience filled Breton with admiration and a strong fascination for the Hopi culture, and during this visit he acquired a considerable number of Kachina dolls. He would later prominently display the group on one of the walls of his apartment, 42 rue Fontaine.
Max Ernst, devenu un amoureux inconditionnel des poupées Kachina, en acheta un ensemble important, tel qu’on le voit au milieu de ses figures, photographié en avril 1942 par James Thrall Soby pour un numéro de View, sous le titre de Max among some of his favorite dolls.
En août 1945, André Breton et sa femme Élisa se rendirent en Arizona, pour s’imprégner de l’univers fascinant des Indiens Hopi. Dans son journal intime, Breton décrit la découverte de leur culture, de leur vie rituelle et de leur art : expérience qui le laissera empreint d’une admiration et d’une fascination sans faille pour la culture Hopi. Lors de ce voyage, il fit l’acquisition d’un nombre considérable de poupées Kachina. Il exposera l’ensemble de ses poupées sur l’un des murs de son appartement se situant 42 rue Fontaine.
With their vivid coloring, their suggestive geometric aspect and their complex symbolism Kachina dolls of the Hopi Indians have fascinated the Western eye and have served as a source of aesthetic inspiration to several artists of the XXth century Avant-garde.
The German Expressionist painter Emil Nolde was the first Avant-garde artist to incorporate Indian Art into his compositions. In his painting Exotische Figuren II from 1911, the primary figure is a Hopi-Kachina doll which has been placed between two opposite puma-like cats.
Max Ernst became so enamored of Hopi Kachina dolls that he purchased the entire stock of the Grand Canyon Trading Post, and later posed in a photo taken by James Thrall Soby for a special issue of the American magazine View in April 1942, surrounding by a whole kachinas group as if pretending to be the father of Kachinas. The title of the photo captioned Max Among Some of His Favorite Dolls.
André Breton and his wife Elisa traveled to Arizona in August 1945, where they were immersed into the fascinating universe of the Hopi Indians. Breton kept a detailed diary describing his first-hand discovery of their culture, ritual life and art. This incredible experience filled Breton with admiration and a strong fascination for the Hopi culture, and during this visit he acquired a considerable number of Kachina dolls. He would later prominently display the group on one of the walls of his apartment, 42 rue Fontaine.