Mexique

 In 1939, following a trip to Mexico, André Breton, the French writer and founder of the Surrealist movement, organized an exhibition in Paris called Mexique. Although it was originally envisioned as a solo show of Frida Kahlo's work, Breton expanded it to include hundreds of objects, from ancient American sculpture to contemporary photographs by Manuel Álvarez Bravo, whose work is reproduced on the cover of the accompanying catalog. Kahlo’s letters from the period express her frustrations with Breton’s treatment of her work and mishandling of the logistics, as well as her gratitude to Marcel Duchamp, who worked to get her paintings released from customs and secure Galerie Renou & Colle as the venue. Despite Kahlo’s initial disappointment, the show turned out to be a milestone, bringing her international attention as she entered the mature, successful phase of her career. This catalog includes a preface by Breton, who expresses a sweeping, homogenizing view of Mexican art, and important documentation of the objects that were included in the show, several of which are now in museum collections.

 The Mexique catalog was printed in a very limited edition, and copies are extremely rare. This catalog has long been on the wish list of our Department of Prints and Drawings, and we borrowed and displayed this exact copy in Frida Kahlo and Arte Popular (2019) because we were unable to find one to purchase. The Mexique exhibition is described in detail in the forthcoming publication inspired by the Kahlo show. This catalog will enable further research on Mexican modernism (it is an important source not only on Kahlo, but on Álvarez Bravo, also represented in our collection), and it is a beautifully illustrated piece of ephemera that could be included in future installations.