two letters from a letter written in french to a man
ALDE

11 - ARTAUD (Antonin). Signed autograph letter to René Thomas.
See original version (French)

Estimate €4,000 - €5,000
Sale commission
Description
ARTAUD (Antonin). Signed autograph letter to René Thomas. Chihuahua, 7 October 1936. 3 pages, in-4. An extraordinary autograph signed letter from Antonin Artaud, sent from Mexico to his friend René Thomas, a painter, illustrator and journalist who put Artaud up on Rue Daguerre upon his return from Ireland: I have seen in Mexico what I set out to see there, and I have drawn the major conclusions that are inevitable; and I know that these conclusions will be dismissed as fancies and madness, but what does it matter!! The Tarahumara Indians, who practise the sacred rite of the Sun in the mountains, are in the truth, and they remain there ceaselessly. This truth demolishes all the ideas of the modern world. But every sincere and sensible person is opposed to the modern world, and the Indians who oppose today’s civilisation have maintained their traditions and beliefs unchanged for 400 years, despite the terrible war waged against them, both in the past and present. I suffered terribly in Mexico City, but in the mountains amongst the Tarahumara Indians I was rewarded for my hardships and my waiting. I can now return enriched by a strength that only those with the right kind of heart will be able to feel and appreciate... Unpublished correspondence. Artaud arrived in Mexico City on 7 February 1936; he left the country nearly nine months later, at the end of October 1936. This letter was therefore written at the very end of his Mexican journey, after he had taken part, alongside the Tarahumara, in the peyote ritual, “that plant which fills the eyes with wonder”, to quote the specialist Alexandre Rouhier, Doctor of Pharmacy and author of *Le Peyotl* (1927).
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale Eros & Thanatos – Selected extracts from the L-D S library
Auction location
Auction time 10/07/2026 at 2:00 PM
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ALDE
See original version (French)
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