Synopses & Reviews
A profound understanding of the surrealistsandrsquo; connections with alchemists and secret societies and the hermetic aspirations revealed in their works andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andbull; Explains how surrealist paintings and poems employed mythology, gnostic principles, tarot, voodoo, alchemy, and other hermetic sciences to seek out unexplored regions of the mind and recover lost andldquo;psychicandrdquo; and magical powers andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andbull; Provides many examples of esoteric influence in surrealism, such as how Picassoandrsquo;s andlt;Iandgt;Demoiselles dandrsquo;Avignonandlt;/Iandgt; was originally titled andlt;Iandgt;The Bath of the Philosophersandlt;/Iandgt; andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Not merely an artistic or literary movement as many believe, the surrealists rejected the labels of artist and author bestowed upon them by outsiders, accepting instead the titles of magician, alchemist, or--in the case of Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo--witch. Their paintings, poems, and other works were created to seek out unexplored regions of the mind and recover lost andldquo;psychicandrdquo; and magical powers. They used creative expression as the vehicle to attain what Andrandeacute; Breton called the andldquo;supreme point,andrdquo; the point at which all opposites cease to be perceived as contradictions. This supreme point is found at the heart of all esoteric doctrines, including the Great Work of alchemy, and enables communication with higher states of being. andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Drawing on an extensive range of writings by the surrealists and those in their circle of influence, Patrick Lepetit shows how the surrealists employed mythology, gnostic principles, tarot, voodoo, and alchemy not simply as reference points but as significant elements of their ongoing investigations into the fundamental nature of consciousness. He provides many specific examples of esoteric influence among the surrealists, such as how Picassoandrsquo;s famous andlt;Iandgt;Demoiselles dandrsquo;Avignonandlt;/Iandgt; was originally titled andlt;Iandgt;The Bath of the Philosophersandlt;/Iandgt;, how painter Victor Brauner drew from his fatherandrsquo;s spiritualist vocation as well as the Kabbalah and tarot, and how doctor and surrealist author Pierre Mabille was a Freemason focused on finding initiatory paths where andldquo;it is possible to feel a new system connecting man with the universe.andrdquo; andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Lepetit casts new light on the connection between key figures of the movement and the circle of adepts gathered around Fulcanelli. He also explores the relationship between surrealists and Freemasonry, Martinists, and the Elect Cohen as well as the Grail mythos and the Arthurian brotherhood.
Review
andldquo;This book is a necessary resource for those readers interested, or rather compelled, by the implicit and explicit relationships between surrealism and the initiatory forms that comprise the great traditions of the esoteric and occult arts. The author, whose enthusiasm for his subject is equaled by his erudition, provides for the first time in English translation numerous excerpts from noted surrealists commenting directly on the subject at hand, whether it be divination, astrology, dark romanticism, the Celtic world, or alchemy, magic, Voudoun, Gnosticism and mythopoesis. His exegesis and conclusions are ripe, and should provoke the reader not only in terms of encountering the texts and works discussed throughout the various ages and contexts they were created in but also in recollecting, or revisiting, quite personal moments that have acted as levers or axial junctures from which much else evolved. Patrick Lepetitandrsquo;s scholarship in this regard is revivifying and precise. A much needed looking glass into a still evolving gyre in which science, as a capacity for astute observation, and poetry, where our internal and external theaters merge, have ever the potential of reaching new syntheses.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;French scholar Lepetitandrsquo;s first English-language book, translated by Jon E. Graham, draws extensively on the work of others to suggest links between esoteric traditions and the surrealist movement. Lepetit calls on a parade of commentators to support his argument that surrealist artists such as Andrandeacute; Breton and his colleagues were more than avant-garde painters and poets. Instead, posits Lepetit, they had strong ties to spiritualists, Freemasons, voodoo practitioners, and secret societies of all stripes; he believes that their message was not only psychological, but essentially spiritual. Lepetit is an enthusiastic researcher, and this volume is thick with quotations, references, and footnotes that explore every aspect of surrealism. Precisely how all of these dimensions are related to each other is not always clear, because quotations so rapidly follow one another that they leave little room for Lepetit to comment or readers to reflect. While textual sources abound, Lepetit includes only 21 illustrations to provide examples of the wealth of surrealist art he refers to in the text. Previous knowledge of surrealist art and the history of the occult are recommended before delving into Lepetitandrsquo;s specialized body of knowledge. A comprehensive bibliography provides ample opportunity for additional exploration.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Lepetitandrsquo;s book remains an excellent one. For readers with an interest in occultism and spirituality it offers a journey of initiation into the arcana of modern art and literature; for scholars and students of the surrealist movement, it is essential reading. According to the English-born surrealist Leonora Carrington, modern men should abandon themselves to the great ocean of the unknown and rediscover a sense of magic and enchantment amid the dull and monotonous shades of rationalized society. Reading Lepetit's study is a first plunge into precisely this sea of spirituality.andrdquo;
About the Author
Patrick Lepetit has written several books in French on esoteric traditions and surrealism. He is a member of the Grand Orient de France and of the Mandeacute;lusine Network of scholars interested in surrealism. He lives in Mons en Baroeul, France.
Table of Contents
andlt;bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Foreword by Bernard Rogerandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Introduction: Tolerance and Acceptance of Difference andlt;/bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1andlt;/bandgt;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Under the Sign of the Goose: Surrealism and Liberation of the Mind andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2andlt;/bandgt;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Surrealism and the Sacred andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3andlt;/bandgt; andnbsp;andnbsp; Surrealism and the Labyrinth of the Mind andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;4andlt;/bandgt;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Surrealism and Divination andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;5andlt;/bandgt;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Surrealism and Astrology andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;6andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; andlt;/bandgt;Surrealism and Dark Romanticism: and#8220;In the Closed Palaceand#8221; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;7andlt;/bandgt;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; The Unappeasable Shadow of Arthurand#8217;s Companions: Surrealism and Celticism andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;8andlt;/bandgt;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Surrealism and Alchemy: and#8220;You with Lead in the Head, Melt It Down to Make Surrealist Goldand#8221; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;9andlt;/bandgt;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Surrealism and Magic andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;10andlt;/bandgt;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Surrealism, Freemasonry, and Voodoo: Ogun Ferraille, the Elect Cohen, and the Great Tradition andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;11andlt;/bandgt;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Surrealism and Gnosticism andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;12andlt;/bandgt;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Surrealism and Tradition: Occult Sources, Histories of Orders and Churches andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;13andlt;/bandgt;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Surrealism and Myth andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;14andlt;/bandgt;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Keeping a Level Head? andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Notes andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Bibliography andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Index andlt;/bandgt;