Marc Eemans

Painted in 1928. signed Marc Eemans and dated 28 (upper left) oil on canvas PROVENANCE Galerie von Bartha, Basel Private Collection, Switzerland (acquired from the above) EXHIBITED Brussels, Galerie l'Époque, Marc Eemans, 1928, no. 14 LITERATURE AND REFERENCES Marcel Mariën, L'Activité Surréaliste en Belgique, Brussels, 1979, listed p. 178

MARC EEMANS, 1907-1998 (1907-1998) - HOMME ET FEMME SURREALISTE -
Mis: 47.4 by 56.8cm.; 18 3/4 by 22 3/8 in.
signed and dated '29 oil on board Painted in 1929.

PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Belgium

CATALOGUE NOTE
Executed in 1929, at a time when the artist was firmly established as a driving force in the surrealist movement in Belgium, this work presents a theatrical view into another reality. What at first sight appears to be a straight forward portrayal of two elegantly dressed individuals is revealed to be a highly eroticised surreal image in which the eye of the man and the mouth of the woman are replaced by a breast. Set within a deteriorating border with a hazy background, a dreamlike reality is formed, creating dramatic tension between reality and a surrealist otherworldliness. Lot 300 is an excellent example of Marc Eemans central interests; the female form. The juxtaposition of two sensual figures alongside the tactile marble and exposed brick draws the viewer into a strange tantalising world, mixing classicism with the surrealist ideal.

on the reverse on the reverse 1928 signed and dated ; titled and dated 28 painted in 1928. catalogue note in the 1920s, belgian painter and poet marc eemans, developed a surrealist idiom in his paintings. he was inspired by his contact with paul van ostaijen and the surrealists associated with the periodical l'esprit as well as with andré breton's first manifeste du surréalisme of 1924. in 1928, e.l.t. mesens organised the first exhibition of eemans' work at the galerie l'epoque. in 1930, eemans was one of three belgian surrealists (alongisde magritte and mabour) to be included in the

signed and dated The Belgian painter and poet Marc Eemans was born in 1907 and studied at the Brussels Academy. During the mid-1920s he developed a Surrealist idiom in his paintings, inspired by his contact with Paul Van Ostaijen and the Surrealists associated with the periodical L'Esprit , as well as with André Breton's first Manifeste du Surréalisme of 1924. In 1928, E.L.T. Mesens organised the first exhibition of Eemans' work at the Galerie L'Epoque. In 1930 Eemans was one of three Belgian Surrealists (alongside Magritte and Mambour) to be included in the De Onafhankeltjken exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. At the end of the 1920s, Eemans distanced himself from the first Belgian Surrealist Group for personal reasons, although he had been central to their activities for a number of years. Another work by the artist will be sold in Sotheby's Day Sale of Impressionist & Modern Art on February 6th, 2002.