Jacqueline Lamba facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jacqueline Lamba Breton
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Jacqueline Lamba Breton, 1930, photograph by Man Ray
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| Born |
Jacqueline Lamba
17 November 1910 Saint-Mandé, French Third Republic
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| Died | 20 July 1993 (aged 82) Rochecorbon, France
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| Nationality | French |
| Other names | Jacqueline Lamba Breton, Jacqueline Lamba-Breton |
| Education | Ecole des Arts Decoratifs |
| Known for | Painting |
| Movement | Surrealism |
| Spouse(s) |
André Breton
(m. 1934; div. 1943)David Hare
(m. 1946; div. 1955) |
Jacqueline Lamba (born November 17, 1910, died July 20, 1993) was a talented French painter. She was known for her unique art style, called Surrealism. Jacqueline was also married to André Breton, a famous leader of the Surrealist movement.
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About Jacqueline Lamba
Jacqueline Lamba was born in a suburb of Paris, France, on November 17, 1910. Her mother was very smart and loved to read. Her father, José Lamba, died in a car accident when Jacqueline was only three years old. Her mother, Jane Pinon, passed away when Jacqueline was 16.
Jacqueline loved art from a young age. She often visited the Louvre museum in Paris with her mother and sister. She also enjoyed seeing exhibitions of decorative arts, like printed fabrics, at the Palais Galliera. These visits helped her decide to become a visual artist.
The Importance of Light in Her Art
Light was very special to Jacqueline. She often said that an object is just a part of space made by light. She believed that color was a way to change things, and texture was how this choice became real. For her, lines were already forms, and shadows were already light.
Her Early Life and Studies
When Jacqueline was younger, she often wore pants and kept her hair short. She was even called "Jacko" by some. Like her mother, Jacqueline was very well-read and had strong opinions. She also had a fiery personality, which earned her the nickname "Bastille Day".
Jacqueline studied at the Ecole de L'Union Central des Art Decoratifs from 1926 to 1929. After that, she worked as a designer for textiles and paper. She also worked in advertising. Later, she became a painter, inspired by other artists like Maurice Denis. Jacqueline Lamba became known as a painter and draughtswoman.
Her Life with André Breton
While studying at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs, Jacqueline joined the French Communist Party. After her mother passed away, she lived in a home for young women run by nuns. She supported herself by creating designs for department stores.
Meeting André Breton
A cousin suggested that Jacqueline read a book by André Breton, who was the main leader of the Surrealist art movement. After reading his books, she was amazed. She felt that Breton was saying exactly what she was thinking. She was sure they would meet.
Jacqueline had already met fellow Surrealist artist Dora Maar at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs. On May 29, 1934, Jacqueline met Breton again after one of her performances. Breton later wrote about this meeting in his book, Mad Love, calling her "scandalously beautiful."
They got married three months later, in a joint ceremony with Paul Éluard and Nusch Éluard. The sculptor Alberto Giacometti was their best man. Jacqueline often appeared in Breton's poems throughout their marriage.
Fleeing During World War II
During World War II, Jacqueline and Breton were in danger from the Nazis. In Marseille, they met Varian Fry, who helped them escape. With their baby daughter, Aube, in her arms, Jacqueline and Breton were secretly taken over the Pyrenees mountains to safety in America.
Jacqueline wrote a letter to Dora Maar in June 1940. She mentioned leaving her sister, Huguette, in Paris. She also asked about their friends, Benjamin Péret and Remedios Varo. She wrote that she and Breton were living in a small fisherman's shack on the beach of Martigues.
Jacqueline and André had a daughter named Aube, which means "dawn." They separated in 1943. Jacqueline often felt that she was not recognized for her own art because she was married to a famous man. People often referred to her as "Breton's wife" instead of by her own name.
Art and Travels
Breton was very interested in Jacqueline, especially her focus on light in her art. They worked together on some pieces, like Le Petit Mimetique (1936). This artwork showed how Surrealism could mimic nature.
On September 6, 1936, Jacqueline left her home in Paris for Ajaccio, France, leaving Breton and their eight-month-old daughter. She left at other times during their marriage but always returned to work on their relationship. In 1939, during a break from André Breton, she went to the Midi beach in Cannes with Pablo Picasso and Dora Maar. Picasso drew the two women in his work Night Fish-ing in Antibes (1939).
Jacqueline Lamba was part of the Surrealist Movement from 1934 to 1947. In 1943, her art was shown in Peggy Guggenheim's exhibition called Exhibition by 31 Women at the Art of This Century gallery in New York.
After spending seven months in Mexico with Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, Jacqueline and Frida became good friends. Both artists faced challenges in their own artistic journeys while being married to famous men. Frida Kahlo showed Jacqueline's feelings in her 1943 painting The Bride Frightened at the Seeing Life Opened.
Jacqueline Lamba had her first solo art show in New York City at the Norlyst Gallery in April 1944. It featured eleven oil paintings, six works on paper, and a short Surrealist poem.
Her Life with David Hare
After separating from Breton, Jacqueline married David Hare, an American sculptor.
Unlike André Breton, Jacqueline Lamba spoke fluent English. She became the main translator for VVV, a magazine that Breton started. She also translated for others connected to the magazine. It was while working at VVV that she met David Hare, who was the editor.
Jacqueline left André Breton for David Hare in 1942 and moved to Roxbury, Connecticut with him. They had enough money to live comfortably because of an inheritance. They showed their art together at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in August and September 1946. The show was called "Painting by Jacqueline Lamba and Sculpture by David Hare." They had a son together named Meredith Merlin Hare.
Their marriage ended in 1954. Jacqueline moved back to France. David Hare continued to send her money every month for 42 years. In 1955, Jacqueline divorced Hare and returned to Paris.
After being married twice, Jacqueline told a friend that she had painted Surrealist art to please Breton. She painted expressionist landscapes to please Hare. But now, she was painting only for herself. Her friends noticed that her painting strokes were very gentle. She chose to live alone, and her paintings became complex cityscapes. They were detailed and grand at the same time, often taking months to finish.
Later Years
For the last five years of her life, Jacqueline Lamba had Alzheimer's disease. Towards the end of her life, she also had a stroke.
She asked her daughter and son to move her to the countryside in Rochecorbon. She spent her final years there. Her children, Aube and Merlin, moved her to a retirement home. She lived in an 18th-century French chateau and "made art until she could no longer hold a pencil."
Her continued love for light is clear on her gravestone. It reads: "Jacqueline Lamba 1910-1993, 'the night of the sunflower'." "La nuit du tournesol" is the title of a poem by André Breton that first drew Jacqueline to him. It describes a night where the poet walks through Paris and meets a beautiful woman near a flower stall with sunflowers. Aube, Jacqueline's daughter with Breton, chose this line for her mother's gravestone.
See also
- Transatlantic (portrayal in 2023 TV series)
