1 / 9
Photo 1/9 du lotPhoto 2/9 du lotPhoto 3/9 du lotPhoto 4/9 du lotPhoto 5/9 du lotPhoto 6/9 du lotPhoto 7/9 du lotPhoto 8/9 du lotPhoto 9/9 du lot
Premium ROUILLAC

474 - Wladimir Polissadiw (French-Ukrainian, 1883-1940) The Unknow…
See original version (French)

Estimate €5,000 - €8,000
Sale commission
Description
Wladimir Polissadiw (French-Ukrainian, 1883-1940) The Unknown Thief, Incomprehensible Poem, 1932 Unique original manuscript illustrated with 21 full-page drawings, mixed technique: pastel, grease pencil, Indian ink, watercolour, protective varnish. The text is written in black ink in capital letters. 30 pp. on vellum paper folded, mounted and glued on mitre to form a leporello structure. Covered in full soft vellum. Engraved bookplate of Dr R. Germain affixed to the flyleaf. Height 35 Width 26.5 cm Provenance : - collection of Dr. Pierre-Raoul Germain (1885-1974) ; - Claude Bernès collection (1941-2025). Wladimir Polissadiw's work is a hybrid, at once an irrational collection of poems and a gallery of painted pastiches. The subtitle Poème incompréhensible immediately places the composition between Pataphysics and Surrealism, with the text narrating a police investigation in pursuit of the "Unknown Thief", a metaphor for the elusive. The manuscript is presented as a satirical and absurd epic divided into several sequences: the prologue, which introduces the characters (Brigadier, Elephantine); a gallery of styles or pastiches in which the "Thief" is depicted according to the aesthetic codes of the Art Deco period of the early 1930s (cubism, modernism, realism, expressionism) inspired by contemporary painters (Picasso, Foujita, Modigliani) ; the investigation, illustrated with a series of satirical and caricatured scenes, a scathing critique of the institutions (army, justice, State) and societal trends of the time; the epilogue marking the entry of the absurd into history, i.e. the unknown thief installed in the Pantheon. With "an indefinable genre", Polissadiw shows that he is a keen observer of his time. Not content with parodying the "masters" (Picasso, Foujita), he also captures the evolution of social identities. The thief is not just the one who takes the goods, he is the one who steals appearances and refuses to be pigeon-holed. A rare bibliophilic curiosity.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale MARIE VASSILIEFF - THE GOLDEN AGE OF MONTPARNASSE
Auction location
Auction time 06/08/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like