Vielé-Griffin (Francis) - Lot 30

Vielé-Griffin (Francis) Ɵ The Swans. Poésies (1885-1886). Alcan-Levy, Paris [1887]. First edition (19.4 x 14 cm). Slightly later binding: half parma morocco, ribbed spine, gilt head, covers preserved. A true concentrate of Symbolism at its peak: the copy dedicated to Gustave Moreau by Francis Vielé-Griffin, thus associating two of its principal figures: the precursor painter and the young poet. Sent in ink by the author: "to Gustave Moreau, as a token of admiration, the author Francis Vielé-Griffin". The second collection by Francis Vielé-Griffin (1864-1937), a beacon of Symbolism, Les Cygnes is one of the very first poetic works in free verse, published the same year as Gustave Kahn's Les Palais nomades. That this American author was one of France's leading Symbolist poets may seem surprising. But a college friend of Henri de Régnier, he joined the Decadents with him and became close to Mallarmé. His association with Gustave Moreau (1826-1898), the "symbol of symbolism" in painting, a few months after the publication of Jean Moréas' Manifeste symboliste in Le Figaro on September 18, 1886, is highly significant in the context of this school. Gustave Moreau left his mark well beyond the movement, as a master of Matisse, Camoin, Rouault, Marquet and Manguin, having himself been the spiritual heir of Chassériau, along with Puvis de Chavanne. Later, André Breton would recall: "The discovery of the Gustave Moreau museum, when I was 16, forever conditioned my way of loving." Provenance: Gustave Moreau.