VAN BRUAENE (Geert). A collection of 7 autograph documents, - Lot 813

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Lot n° 813
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VAN BRUAENE (Geert). A collection of 7 autograph documents, - Lot 813
VAN BRUAENE (Geert). A collection of 7 autograph documents, including handwritten letters (one of which is a 5-page letter), postcards, and an invitation card, addressed to Florent Welles (1922–2000), a Brussels-based sculptor associated with the Marais group (Cobra). Bilingual correspondence (Dutch and French). Includes: 1. The invitation card for Dubuffet’s exhibition “Sous le signe de la trace de l’escargot et du trou de la taupe” at the Le Diable par la queue gallery in February–March 1951 (on the back of the card, van Bruaene mentions the imminent end of the exhibition...). In a stamped envelope.— 2. A 5-page autograph signed letter, numbered 1 through 5, on loose-leaf paper. In it, he expresses regret for having exposed “good people” (vromen mensen) to the laws of the market. He transcribes in full his famous pamphlet “Petites expériences de quarante années,” in which he lambasts the successful painter. It also mentions a financial dispute.—3. A postcard referring to an engraving by Otto Dix.—4. A greeting card from La Fleur on gold-foil paper.—5. A postcard from February 1953 (expressing support for Geert van Bruaene following perceived tension at a party).—6. A two-page handwritten note dated April 29, 1960.—7. A greeting card written from his last residence, La Cage aux Ours, a few months before his death. Unpublished correspondence (1951–1964) attesting to the close bond between Geert van Bruaene and Florent Welles (1922–2000). Born in Kortrijk in 1891 and nicknamed “Le Petit Gérard” because of his short stature, Geert van Bruaene (1891–1964) was a poetic and anarchist figure in Belgian art. Trained as an actor, a secondhand dealer by necessity, and a poet by nature, he spent his life opening and closing café-galleries in Brussels. These venues served as havens for penniless artists and free spirits. He was the first in Belgium to exhibit Jean Dubuffet (in 1949 and 1951). He was the Brussels anchor for the Cobra group (Alechinsky, Dotremont, Appel) and a close associate of the Surrealists (Magritte, Scutenaire, Mariën, Mesens). A deeply idealistic man, van Bruaene scorns money and the bourgeois art market. A fine collection.
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