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ROUILLAC
307
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[Literature – Theatre]
See original version (French)
307
-
[Literature – Theatre]
See original version (French)
Estimate €100 - €200
Voluntary lot
Description
[Literature – Theatre]
Paul Claudel (1868–1955), poet, playwright and diplomat
Set of 3 handwritten letters and postcards, 1944–1947, addressed to Marie-Louise Van Veen (1900–1985), a dancer, choreographer and reciter of Dutch origin based in Paris. Trained in expressive dance (Ausdruckstanz) under Rudolph von Laban and Dussia Bereska, she became involved in the Parisian avant-garde theatre scene, notably with the Art et Action company. Mrs Van Veen had specialised in poetry recitals and ‘plastic’ performances (combining recitation, gesture and choreographed movement) and held Paul Claudel’s poetic and spiritual work in high esteem. As Claudel himself noted, she had found an original ‘path’ by adapting some of his great lyric poems for the stage (such as the Cinq Grandes Odes or La Cantate à trois voix).
L.A.S., Brangues, 28 November 1944; Claudel spent most of the war in seclusion at his château in Brangues (Isère);
Marie-Louise Van Veen attempted to secure the rights to *Partage de Midi*, a play which Claudel had always strictly forbidden from being performed (it was not premiered by Barrault until 1948). Claudel’s excuse was a famous ruse employed by the poet to protect this autobiographical and intimate work, which called for a ‘tall, young, dark-haired, passionate’ woman – the exact likeness of his former lover, Rosalie Scibor-Rylska, who inspired the character of Ysé
L.A.S., Paris, Hôtel Lancaster, 24 March 1945; back in Paris, supported by the director Jean Marchat, Claudel put a definitive end to the actress’s dramatic ambitions, relegating her to her talents as a reciter (“plastic and lyrical interpretations of my poems”) and bluntly raising the issue of age for the role of Sygne de Coûfontaine. Basking in the glory of his recent success with the play *Le Soulier du Satin*, Claudel became unyielding and refused to return to the avant-garde theatres with their limited budgets or to ‘goodwill’ initiatives.
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See original version (French)
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