L'Apocalypse

Stanley William HayterWW-1937-019896

1937·Illustrated book with one engraving and soft-ground etching·15.2 × 9.9 cm (6 × 3 15/16 in.)

<p>Georges Hugnet and Stanley William Hayter collaborated on a few publication projects in the 1930s. The first apocalypse-themed portfolio featured six engravings and was published by Editions Jeanne Bucher with a poetic preface from Georges Hugnet in 1932. Later, this diminutive, boutique edition was published in 1937 by Éditions G.L.M. (Guy Lévis Mano) featuring a single new print by Hayter sewn into the binding, and reprinting Hugnet’s poem.</p> <p>Hayter’s surreal illustration does not depict the exact images that Hugnet describes, such as death, or angels, but it captures the same feeling of catastrophe. Abstract forms, such as four horses and a skeleton, come in and out of focus. Hayter traveled to Spain in 1937 and the horrors of the Spanish Civil War appear in his imagery of the moment. This event may have influenced the republication of the earlier poem, perhaps with new urgency.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1937
Medium: Illustrated book with one engraving and soft-ground etching
Dimensions: 15.2 × 9.9 cm (6 × 3 15/16 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Stanley William Hayter

Artist

Stanley William Hayter

Drawing

Stanley William Hayter was a British printmaker and pioneer of experimental intaglio technique whose atelier in Paris became a nexus for postwar modernism. Working primarily in engraving and etching, he developed innovative methods of color printing and surface manipulation that expanded the technical and conceptual possibilities of the medium. His studio, Atelier 17, attracted artists including Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, and Jackson Pollock, who adopted and adapted his approaches. Hayter's prints combine geometric abstraction with organic, gestural mark-making, treating the copper plate as a dynamic field for experimentation rather than a vehicle for reproduction.

Paris, France

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