Andre Breton

About

Remembered for such twentieth-century works as L'Amour Fou (Mad Love), Nadja, and Manifeste du Surrealisme (Surrealist Manifesto), this fiction and nonfiction writer and poet is credited with having founded the Surrealist movement in art and literature.

Before Fame

Before founding the Litterature journal in 1919, he trained as a doctor and psychiatrist and worked during World War I at a hospital in Nantes, France.

Trivia

An art collector as well as a writer, he owned works by such renowned artists as Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst, and Diego Rivera.

Family Life

He was married three times: first, to Simone Kahn; next, to artist Jacqueline Lamba; then, to writer Elisa Claro. His second marriage resulted in one daughter, Aube Breton.

Associated With

He was a contemporary and acquaintance of artist, Dada movement founder, and fellow author Tristan Tzara.