Eileen Agar (1899 – 1991), John Banting (1902 – 1972), Roland Penrose (1900 – 1984) and Antonio Pedro da Costa (1909 – 1966)
Eileen Agar (1899 – 1991), John Banting (1902 – 1972), Roland Penrose (1900 – 1984) and Antonio Pedro da Costa (1909 – 1966)
Exquisite Corpse (Cadavre Exquis), 1939-40
Ink on paper
24 x 10 cm
Invented in 1925 in Paris by the surrealists Yves Tanguy, Jacques Prevert, Andre Breton and Marcel Duchamp, Cadavre Exquis is similar to the old parlour game Consquences, in which the players write in turn on sheet of paper, fold to conceal part of the writing and pass it on to the next player. The surrealists adapted the game by drawing parts of the body to create hybrid creatures. The name Cadavre Exquis was derived from a phrase that was made when they first played the game with words, ‘Le cadaver / exquis / boira / le vin/ nouveau’ [The exquisite corpse will drink the new wine].
Literature:
British Surrealism in Context: A Collector’s Eye, exhibition catalogue (Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds) 2009, (eds. Silvano Levy and Tanja Pirsig-Marshall),
Jeffrey Sherwin, From France to England: British Surrealism Opened Up (Bradford: Northern Artists Gallery Ltd, 2014), p. 87
London, Dulwich Picture Gallery, British Surrealism 1783 – 1952, (London: Dulwich Picture Gallery) 2020, ill. p.21
Exhibition History:
Middlesborough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA), British Surrealism & Other Realities 23 May – 17 August 2008
Leeds Art Gallery, British Surrealism in Context: A Collector’s Eye 10 July – 1st November 2009
Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, British Surrealism 1783 – 1952, 26 February – 17 May 2020
The Hepworth Wakefield, When Dreams Confront Reality: The Sherwin Collection 17 March 2022 – 7 January 2022
Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, When Dreams Confront Reality: Surrealism in Britain 13 October 2023 – 7 January 2024
Provenance:
Purchased by Jeffrey Sherwin
By descent to Sherwin Family Collection, permanently housed at The Hepworth Wakefield
