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Edité par René Drouin., Paris., 1949
Vendeur : Sims Reed Ltd ABA ILAB, London, Royaume-Uni
Magazine / Périodique
Large folio. (650 x 500 mm). [2 bifolia]. Printed text in black recto and verso beneath opening banner headline, orange printed text overlaid, dada typography throughout and 18 monochrome illustrations of works by Picabia. Folded as issued, but in exceptional condition without the usual browning and tears. The scarce large format catalogue / single issue periodical '491' issued for Francis Picabia's retrospective '50 Ans de Plaisir'. In the spring of 1949, a large retrospective exhibition on Francis Picabia - the year 1949 saw Picabia turn 70 - was organized by the Galerie René Drouin. The catalogue for the exhibition, titled '491', was published in a newspaper format, its title recalling Alfred Stieglitz's '291' (1915 - 1916), to which Picabia made important contributions, Picabia's own '391' (1917 - 1924) and prefiguring '591' (1952) published by PAB (Pierre-André Benoit) with poems and illustration by Picabia shortly before his death, and the final '691' (1959), a collaboration between Arp, Duchamp and Tzara (with a cover by Picabia) published in memoriam by PAB after Picabia's death in 1953. '491' features text by Michel Tapié ('50 Ans de Plaisir'), André Breton ('Jumelles pour Yeux Bandés'), Michel Seuphor ('Rébus'), Charles Estienne ('Une Pierre de Scandale'), Gabrielle Buffet ('Raccourci'), Camille Bryen ('La Saint Picabia'), Pierre de Massot ('Le Magicien'), Francis Bott ('It's A Long Way to Tipperary') as well as other hommages, poems and appreciations. The 18 illustrations, all in monochrome throughout, are of works by Francis Picabia, ranging from a post-impressionist lseascape of 1905, through his Cubist phase to the dada period ('Parade Amoureuse' and 'La Double Monde' for example), paintings of the '20s (Le Beau Charcutier', 'Carnaval' and 'Barcelone') and on to works of the '30s and '40s. The final page of the catalogue lists the 136 works displayed dating from 1897 to 1949; many of the works were lent by the contributors to '491' and other friends and patrons of Picabia. Michel Tapié de Celeyran (he wrote under the name Michel Tapié) was a cousin of Toulouse-Lautrec and one of the most important French critics and theorists of the twentieth century. An early exponent of Abstract Expressionism through his essay Un Art Autre and, indeed, a Tachist (the European arm of Abstract Expressionism as expressed by Wols, Tapié and Georges Mathieu) in his own right, Tapié was also responsible for the Turin-based International Centre of Aesthetic Research, was linked to the Japanese Gutai group and had a direct influence on Fluxus. Folded as issued, this copy is in remarkable condition with no splits, tears, or wear at the folds.