L'imitation de Notre Dame la Lune II, 1974

Camille Bryen  

Born in 1907 in Nantes and died in 1977 in Paris, Camille Bryen was a French painter and engraver.

Born under the name Camille Briand, the artist joined the Bohemian circle of Nantes in the 20's under the pseudonym "Aristide". During this time, he was involved in the “Affaire de la Close” in which many directors of companies in Nantes, participated in a social orgy. The scandal was officially disclosed by the newspaper "Le Travailleur de l'Ouest". Aristide took advantage of the news and created a song called "Surprise party" and sang it in public, and got an official report. He also collaborated in the creation of an avant-gardist magazine named after the news item "L'affaire de la Close".

In the late 20's, Camille Bryen went to Paris and joined a surrealist group. He published his first poems and made drawings and collages. In 1934 he presented his work during his first solo exhibition. He participated in the Charles Sirato manifesto along with Jean Arp, Marcel Duchamp and Francis Picabia.
Camille Bryen is also the author of the slogan "Défense d'interdire" displayed in many areas in Paris, which was taken up by the youth in 1968 with the famous "il est interdit d'interdire".

In the 40s, Camille Bryen created his first lyrical abstraction exhibition, in which Hans Hartung, Wols, Gérard Schneider and Georges Mathieu also participated,
At the end of this decade, the artist turned towards engraving and discovered oil painting. Gradually he gave up literature to devote himself to the visual arts.

Since the 50's, Camille Bryen exhibited his creations everywhere in France and even abroad and participated in several fairs and biennials.
His work was completely rediscovered through the exhibition "Envolée lyrique, Paris 1945-1956" at the Luxembourg Museum in 2006.