About this artwork
The Surrealists greatly admired the infamous heretic Marquis de Sade and his rejection of the arbitrary moral pressures of his time. In 1939 Jean Desbordes, a fledgling Surrealist under the wing of fellow poet Jean Cocteau, wrote the first detailed biography of Sade. Mary Reynolds, the designer of the book’s unique binding, made material and color choices that directly reflect the Sade’s libertine lifestyle and writing: blood red covers are bridged by raised diagonal bands resembling the welts that form on skin following the impact of a switch or whip, and a sturdy black spine displays the author and title in gilded lettering. The feel of the raised bands is a tactile and intimate connection among author, binder, and reader. The book bears an inscription from Desbordes to Reynolds on the half-title page.
-
Status
- On View, Gallery 289
-
Department
- Ryerson and Burnham Libraries Special Collections
-
Artist
- Mary Reynolds
-
Title
- Le vrai visage du Marquis de Sade (The True Face of the Marquis de Sade)
-
Place
- Paris (Object made in:)
-
Date
- 1939
-
Medium
- Full goatskin with calfskin inlays; diagonal false bands on spine with gold stamping; black endpapers and black-painted top edge
-
Inscriptions
- Inscription on half-title: “A Mary Reynolds / si bienfaisante, que / j'aime tendrement et / respectueusement / Jean Desbordes” (“To Mary Reynolds / so gracious, whom / I love tenderly and / respectfully / Jean Desbordes”)
-
Dimensions
- 21.1 × 13.1 × 3 cm (8 5/16 × 5 3/16 × 1 3/16 in.)
-
Credit Line
- Mary Reynolds Collection, Ryerson & Burnham Libraries
-
Reference Number
- 2019.177
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
