André Breton, the seducer, declares his love for Nelly Kaplan. 1956.

André Breton (1896.1966).

Autographed letter signed to Nelly Kaplan.

Two pages, large quarto. Autograph envelope, stamped and postmarked.

Paris. December 31, 1956.

"It's possible I was unsettled by your beauty."

André Breton, the seducer, praises the beauty of Nelly Kaplan, the genesis of their budding love.

________________________________________________________

“ I was initially deeply touched by your recollection and your precise allusion to the (disjointed, through my own fault) conversation we had at a pre-Columbian exhibition. First, braving the absurdity of it all, I must make a small confession. When, upon leaving the exhibition, you invited me to cross the Rue de Rivoli to introduce myself to someone, shame on me, yes, shame on me, I didn't hear this person's name and I didn't presume to ask you to repeat it (as one doesn't hold back in America, and rightly so!). This resulted in me being incredibly awkward and practically speechless—though it would have been a hundred times better to remain completely silent—before this very person, whom I was torn between the illusion of recognizing and the impossibility of establishing who she was.” My disgrace, at that moment, was compounded by the far too flattering remarks she made to me, remarks I already find very difficult to bear in other circumstances. In any case, I was far too defenseless to deal with them.

I no longer know, from this distance, how long it took me to imagine, and especially to convince myself, that you could have brought me into contact with Abel Gance . Please, I beg you, apologize to him as soon as possible. His face alone is not one that one has the right to forget. What he was kind enough to tell me, without regard for my embarrassment, which you and he can now understand, manages to delight me beyond mere confusion. Since then, I have sometimes wondered about the possible causes of this mishap. If you will allow me to be entirely frank, it is possible that I was flustered by your beauty and by the circumstances in which we struck up a conversation. I prefer to think this rather than admit that I was a victim of those forces that have already made their hostility toward me regarding "magical art," and that I may have awakened in you (the devil only knows why...). It is true, however, that you did mention the word "polyvision," which should have been enough to clear up the mystery of those few minutes. No, I simply don't understand. And now your show is being presented under the name "Magirama." Let's keep dreaming.

Of this performance, which—not easily influenced as I know myself—I insisted on attending alone, let me tell you that it moved me deeply. I absolutely share your hopes regarding the artistic formula that emerges from it. For me, it is like the strident return of swallows in our sky (…) Without a doubt—and I thank you for this— a new structure of time is germinating here , which scholars and philosophers are striving to discover, but which will likely only reveal itself through new emotional states, of the kind that Abel Gance and you are precisely evoking. “J’accuse,” which I am fortunate enough to have seen in its original version today, is a work that would be enough to consecrate its creator and director as the greatest. Would you please tell him that I proclaim his genius and, on a personal level, that he holds a special place in my heart? Nelly Kaplan, I kiss your hands. I wish you everything you could possibly aspire to. The Kingdom of the Earth is yours. André Breton.

________________________________________________________

A few days after this letter, at the end of January 1957, Breton wrote to Nelly Kaplan: " I think of you endlessly. I am considering, I am trying to consider as calmly as possible, the means of controlling the situation. Don't forget that I love you. "

Breton mentions at the end of the letter the silent film directed by Abel Gance in 1919, J'accuse .