Valentine Hugo

Valentine Hugo (; 1887–1968) was a French artist and writer. She was born Valentine Marie Augustine Gross, only daughter to Auguste Gross and Zélie Démelin, in Boulogne-sur-Mer. She is best known for her work with the Russian ballet and with the French Surrealists. Hugo died in Paris.

Early life and education A lover of the theater and music, Hugo's father raised her to share his interests until his death in 1903, which was undetermined as suicide or an accident. After her husband's death, Zélie raised her daughter alone. She would collaborate with him on ballet designs including Les mariés de la tour Eiffel (1921), and in 1926 she executed 24 wood engravings after maquettes by Jean Hugo for Jean Cocteau's production of Roméo et Juliette. She took part in other exhibitions throughout her time with the group, including an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in 1936.

Relationship with Breton Hugo's relationship with Breton turned physical for a brief period between approximately July 1931 and May 1932. It was a tumultuous affair, and ended negatively for Hugo. On 8 May 1932, following a fight with Breton, Hugo attempted suicide. Regretting her actions, she called Eluard with enough time for him to arrive and save her life. Following this event, Breton and Hugo's friendship remained strained until 9 September of that year, when Hugo punched Breton. Their association permanently ended at this point, except for interactions during group meetings of the Surrealists. Breton never mentioned Hugo in his book Le Surréalisme et la Peinture. After the war, she went back to stage design for choreography, while continuing to create her paintings "in secret," saving "the haunting element of surprise and chance for the end." In 1948, she completed the portrait of Picasso she had started in 1934.

Hugo died on 16 March 1968, the date of her 81st birthday.

Illustrations Hugo was primarily known for her drawings, where a fine line against a dark background created and abundance of decorative volutes and superimposed elements. Her portraits of the leading surrealists and her illustrations for texts by Rene Char and Paul Eluard and for the edition of Achim von Arnim's Strange Tales prefaced by Breton in 1933 are particularly interesting. The foremost illustrator of Paul Éluard's work, she first exhibited with the surrealists in the Salon des Surindépendants of 1933.

Several of her illustrations are: Comte de Lautréamont's Les Chants de Maldoror (1933) Achim von Arnim's Contes bizarres (1933) Arthur Rimbaud's Les Poètes de sept ans (1938) Paul Éluard's Les Animaux et leurs hommes (1937) Roger Peyrefitte's Les amitiés particulières (1946)

Exhibitions A retrospective exhibition of her work was held at the Centre Culturel Thibaud de Champagne, Troyes, in 1977.

Other exhibitions of her work have been at: Tenerife (1935), Copenhagen (1935), New York (1937), Tokyo (1937).