Jean Cassou facts for kids
Jean Cassou (born July 9, 1897 – died January 15, 1986) was a famous French writer, art critic, and poet. He was also a brave member of the French Resistance during World War II. After the war, he became the first director of the National Museum of Modern Art in Paris.
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Early Life and Education
Jean Cassou was born in Bilbao, Spain. His father was French, and his mother, Milagros Ibañez Pacheco, was from Spain.
When Jean was only sixteen, his father passed away. His mother taught him about Spanish culture. He learned both French and Spanish classics in school. Jean studied at the Lycée Charlemagne in Paris. He also worked to help his family. Later, he studied Spanish at the university in Paris.
He worked as a secretary for the writer Pierre Louÿs. From 1921 to 1929, he wrote a monthly column called "Spanish Letters" for a cultural magazine. In 1923, he started working for the Ministry of State Education. His first novel was published in 1926.
Career and Resistance
In 1932, Jean Cassou became an inspector of historic monuments. This meant he helped protect important old buildings. In 1934, he joined a group of thinkers who were against fascism. Fascism was a political idea that led to dictatorships. From 1936, he directed a magazine called Europe.
In 1936, he worked with Jean Zay, who was the Minister of Education. Jean Cassou supported the Spanish Republic and socialism. He was close to the communist party for a while. But he left them in 1939 because of a pact between Germany and the Soviet Union. As the German army approached, he worked to protect France's national treasures.
Joining the Resistance
In September 1940, the Vichy government removed him from his job. He was the first Chief Curator of the Museum of Modern Art. Because of this, he joined the French Resistance. This was a secret group fighting against the German occupation of France. He wrote the first leaflets for the Resistance.
He and his friends, like Claude Aveline and Agnès Humbert, formed a secret group. It was called the Groupe du musée de l'Homme. They also created a secret newspaper called Résistance. Many members of his group were arrested by the Gestapo. But Jean Cassou managed to escape. He went to Toulouse to hide.
Imprisonment and Release
In December 1941, he was arrested for his Resistance activities. He was sent to a Vichy prison for a year. While in prison, he wrote poems in his head. He could not write them down. These poems were later published in 1944. He used the secret name Jean Noir. The book was called Thirty-three sonnets composed in secret.
After a year, he was freed from prison. He was then sent to an internment camp in Saint-Sulpice. After a month, the Resistance helped him get released in June 1943. He continued his secret work for the Resistance. He used the code names "Alain" and "Fournier." He became an inspector for the southern part of France.
Liberation and Later Life
In June 1944, the French government in Algeria named him Commissioner of the Republic for the Toulouse Region. In August, when Toulouse was freed, his car was attacked by German soldiers. Two of his friends were killed, and he was badly hurt. He was in a coma for three weeks. General Charles de Gaulle visited him and gave him the Croix de la Libération. This was a very high honor for his bravery.
In 1945, Jean Cassou returned to his job as Director of the National Museum of Modern Art. He held this position until 1965. In 1971, he received a major national award for his writing. He passed away on January 15, 1986. He is buried near Paris. Jean Cassou was also active in the Peace Movement.
A bronze statue of him is in the Place de la Résistance in Toulouse. The composer Henri Dutilleux even set some of Jean Cassou's poems to music.
Works
Jean Cassou wrote many different kinds of books.
Novels
- Éloge de la Folie, 1925
- Les harmonies viennoises, Paris, Émile Paul, 1926
- Les inconnus dans la cave, Paris, Gallimard, 1933
- Les massacres de Paris, Paris, Gallimard, 1935
- La clef des songes, 1928
- Comme une grande image, Editions Emile-Paul frères, 1931
- Le centre du monde, Paris, Le Sagittaire, 1945
- Dernières pensées d'un amoureux, Paris, Albin Michel, 1962
- Le voisinage des cavernes, Paris, Albin Michel, 1971
Essays
- Les nuits de Musset, Paris, Émile Paul, 1931
- Grandeur et infamie de Tolstoï, Paris, Bernard Grasset, 1932
- Pour la poésie, Paris, Corréa, 1935
- Quarante-huit, Paris, Gallimard, 1939
- La mémoire courte, Paris, Éditions de Minuit, 1954
- Parti pris, Paris, Albin Michel, 1961
- La création des mondes, Paris, Éditions Ouvrières, 1971
- Une vie pour la liberté, Paris, Robert Laffont, 1981
Art Criticism
- Situation de l'Art Moderne, Paris, Éditions de Minuit, 1950
- Panorama des Arts Plastiques contemporains, Paris, Gallimard, 1960
- Jan Le Witt, by Sir Herbert Read and Jean Cassou, 1971
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Symbolism. Chartwell Books, Inc., Secaucus, New Jersey, 292 pp. (1979) ISBN: 0-89009-706-2 (English edition)
Poetry
- Trente-trois sonnets composés au secret, Paris, Éditions de Minuit, 1944
- La rose et le vin
- La folie d'Amadis
Other Works
- La vie de Philippe II. Paris. Gallimard. 1929.
- Panorama de la littérature espagnole contemporaine, Paris, Kra, 1929
- Tempête sur l'Espagne, Paris, L'Homme réel, 1936
- La querelle du réalisme, Paris, ESI, 1936
- Cervantes, Paris, ESI, 1936
- Légion, Paris, Gallimard, 1939
- L'heure du choix (collection), Paris, Éditions de Minuit, 1947
- Le quarante-huitard, Paris, PUF, 1948
- La voie libre, Paris, Flammarion, 1951
Translations by Cassou
Jean Cassou also translated books from other languages into French.
- L'Agonie du Christianisme, translated from an essay by Miguel de Unamuno, Paris, F. Rieder, 1925
- Font au Cabres, a play by Lope de Vega, Paris, Les Ordres de Chevalerie, 1949
Translations of Cassou's Works into English
Some of Jean Cassou's books have been translated into English.
- Chagall, 'The World of Art Library' series. Thames & Hudson, UK 1965
- 33 Sonnets of the Resistance and other poems, Timothy Adès, Arc Publications, UK 2002
- The Madness of Amadis and other poems, Timothy Adès, Agenda Editions, UK 2009
See also
In Spanish: Jean Cassou para niños
