Apollinaire's Drawings Revealed in New Publication

A new book from Éditions Buchet-Chastel gathers some 300 drawings by Guillaume Apollinaire, presented by scholars Claude Debon and Peter Read. The collection, largely unknown outside specialist circles, spans marginal sketches in his poems and letters, as well as vibrant watercolors from his convalescence during World War I. Examples include a meticulous sketch of the apartment where he awaited his lover Lou, and illustrations for Le Bestiaire ou Cortège d'Orphée. The drawings reflect Apollinaire's ties to popular and medieval imagery while anticipating modern art. A youthful poem, 'Aquarelliste,' declares 'I have always painted the sky very blue / like the true,' a program fulfilled in his late works where desire is expressed. The volume offers a new perspective on the poet's visual creativity.