Chapter 9. Manifestations of the avant-garde and its legacy in French children’s literature
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Sandra L. Beckett
Abstract
The influence of the avant-garde manifested itself very early in French children’s literature in pioneering works such as Édy Legrand’s Macao et Cosmage (1919). In the 1930s, Constructivism and Surrealism inspired the children’s books of Nathalie Parain, and Lise Deharme and Claude Cahun respectively. In the 1960s and 1970s, the avant-garde continued to play a significant role in the works of innovative publishers, such as Delpire, Harlin Quist, Le Sourire qui mort, and Ipomée, who were determined to revolutionize children’s books. This chapter examines several landmark books of the avant-garde period and traces the lasting influence of the movement on French children’s books into the twenty-first century, including the legacy of crossover picturebooks that appeal to both children and adults.
Abstract
The influence of the avant-garde manifested itself very early in French children’s literature in pioneering works such as Édy Legrand’s Macao et Cosmage (1919). In the 1930s, Constructivism and Surrealism inspired the children’s books of Nathalie Parain, and Lise Deharme and Claude Cahun respectively. In the 1960s and 1970s, the avant-garde continued to play a significant role in the works of innovative publishers, such as Delpire, Harlin Quist, Le Sourire qui mort, and Ipomée, who were determined to revolutionize children’s books. This chapter examines several landmark books of the avant-garde period and traces the lasting influence of the movement on French children’s books into the twenty-first century, including the legacy of crossover picturebooks that appeal to both children and adults.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Table of figures vii
- Introduction 1
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Vanguard tendencies since the beginning of the twentieth century
- Chapter 1. John Ruskin and the mutual influences of children’s literature and the avant-garde 19
- Chapter 2. Einar Nerman – From the picturebook page to the avant-garde stage 45
- Chapter 3. Sándor Bortnyik and an interwar Hungarian children’s book 65
- Chapter 4. The forgotten history of avant-garde publishing for children in early twentieth-century Britain 89
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The Impact of the Russian avant-garde
- Chapter 5. The square as regal infant 113
- Chapter 6. The 1929 Amsterdam exhibition of early Soviet children’s picturebooks 137
- Chapter 7. Rupture. Ideological, aesthetic, and educational transformations in Danish picturebooks around 1933 171
- Chapter 8. Mirror images 189
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Postbellum avant-garde children’s books
- Chapter 9. Manifestations of the avant-garde and its legacy in French children’s literature 217
- Chapter 10. Just what is it that makes Pop Art picturebooks so different, so appealing? 241
- Chapter 11. Surrealism for children 267
- About the editors and contributors 285
- Subject Index 289
- Name Index 293
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Table of figures vii
- Introduction 1
-
Vanguard tendencies since the beginning of the twentieth century
- Chapter 1. John Ruskin and the mutual influences of children’s literature and the avant-garde 19
- Chapter 2. Einar Nerman – From the picturebook page to the avant-garde stage 45
- Chapter 3. Sándor Bortnyik and an interwar Hungarian children’s book 65
- Chapter 4. The forgotten history of avant-garde publishing for children in early twentieth-century Britain 89
-
The Impact of the Russian avant-garde
- Chapter 5. The square as regal infant 113
- Chapter 6. The 1929 Amsterdam exhibition of early Soviet children’s picturebooks 137
- Chapter 7. Rupture. Ideological, aesthetic, and educational transformations in Danish picturebooks around 1933 171
- Chapter 8. Mirror images 189
-
Postbellum avant-garde children’s books
- Chapter 9. Manifestations of the avant-garde and its legacy in French children’s literature 217
- Chapter 10. Just what is it that makes Pop Art picturebooks so different, so appealing? 241
- Chapter 11. Surrealism for children 267
- About the editors and contributors 285
- Subject Index 289
- Name Index 293
