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Max JacobFrench poet and artist.
Date of Birth: 12.07.1876
Country:  France |
Content:
Biography of Max Jacob
Max Jacob was a French poet and artist, born into a family of German Jews who had relocated from Saarbrücken to Brittany in 1825. He was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor in 1932. In 1890-1891, he underwent treatment with Charcot. From 1897, he lived in Paris and published as an art critic under the pseudonym Léon David. In 1898, he became friends with Picasso and in 1904, he joined Apollinaire's circle, where he met Modigliani, Braque, Derain, Rousseau, and others. In 1915, he converted to Catholicism. From 1921-1928 and 1936-1944, he lived in the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire. On February 24, 1944, he was arrested by the Gestapo due to being Jewish and homosexual. He was sent to the prison in Orleans and then to the Drancy camp, where he died a few days later from pneumonia. Max Jacob's brother and sister also perished in Nazi concentration camps. In 1949, his remains were transferred to the cemetery in Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, and in 1960, he was officially recognized as one of the poets who died for France, with his name inscribed on a memorial tablet for writers who fell between 1939-1945 in the Pantheon in Paris.
Max Jacob's Work
Max Jacob began his career with children's books, such as "The Story of King Kabul" in 1903. He frequently drew inspiration from Breton folklore. Jacob's poetry, characterized by grotesque elements and verbal playfulness, showed influences of Cubism and Surrealism. His poems were set to music by composers such as Erik Satie, Francis Poulenc, and Henri Sauguet. Notable portraits of the poet were created by artists like Modigliani, Picasso, and Kees van Dongen.
