Three Figures

Max Jacob was a French poet, painter, and novelist whose work bridged Symbolism and early modernism in the early twentieth century. Born in Quimper, Brittany, he moved to Paris and became central to avant-garde circles, publishing collections including 'Le Cornet à Dés' (1917) and creating visual art alongside his literary output. His writing combined dreamlike narratives with sharp social observation, while his paintings employed flattened forms and expressive color. Jacob converted to Catholicism in 1915, a spiritual turn that deepened the mystical dimension of his later work. He died in a concentration camp in 1944.