Henri-Pierre Roché
Encyclopedia
Henri-Pierre Roché was a French author who was deeply involved with the artistic avant-garde in Paris and the Dada
movement.
.
Roché was a respected journalist as well as an art collector and dealer. At the turn of the 20th century, he became close friends with a number of young artists from the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris including: Manuel Ortiz de Zárate
, Marie Vassilieff
, and also from Montmartre: Max Jacob
, and Pablo Picasso
. He was at home in the world of artists, collectors, and gallerists. He introduced Leo and Gertrude Stein
to Picasso in November 1905. Leo described Roché as “a tall man with an inquiring eye under an inquisitive forehead, wanted to know something more about everything. He was a born liaison officer, who knew everybody and wanted everybody to know everybody else." Roché is also mentioned in Gertrude Stein's The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
, chapter 3, in much the same terms. She particularly remembered him for having read Three Lives and recognized early her value as a writer.
Henri-Pierre Roché was also a friend of Francis Picabia
, Constantin Brâncuşi
, and Marcel Duchamp
, with whom he traveled to New York city
in 1916 following his discharge from the French army. There, he and Duchamp teamed up with Beatrice Wood
to create The Blind Man
, a magazine that was one of the earliest manifestations of the Dada
art movement in the United States
.
Noted for his womanizing, Roché married twice. In his later years, he wrote two successful novels, though the success of the novels came only after his death. Though biographies of Beatrice Wood link Roché's first novel (and the subsequent film), Jules et Jim
, with the love triangle between Duchamp, Wood, and himself, other sources link their triangle to Roché's unfinished novel, Victor. Jules et Jim was based on the triangle between Roché, Franz Hessel
, who translated Marcel Proust
into German, as did the character Jim, and Helen Grund, who became Hessel's wife. Beatrice Wood commented on this topic on p. 136 of her 1985 autobiography, I Shock Myself:
His second major novel, also based on an episode of his life, was published in 1956 as Les deux anglaises et le continent
. Both novels, although written by a man who was quite advanced in age, exude a surprising amount of vitality and freshness not often seen in French romantic stories of the time. French director François Truffaut
, who befriended Roché when Roché was in his final years, was so impressed by them that he went on to adapt both to the big screen. The adaptation of Jules and Jim by Truffaut was the main cause of the book's belated success.
Henri-Pierre Roché died in 1959 in Sèvres
, Hauts-de-Seine
.
Dada
Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-war politics through a...
movement.
Biography
Roché was born in Paris, France. In 1898, he was an art student at the Académie JulianAcadémie Julian
The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...
.
Roché was a respected journalist as well as an art collector and dealer. At the turn of the 20th century, he became close friends with a number of young artists from the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris including: Manuel Ortiz de Zárate
Manuel Ortiz de Zárate
Manuel Ortiz de Zárate Pinto was a Chilean painter.Born Manuel Revuelta Ortiz de Zárate Pinto in Como, Italy, he was the son of Chilean composer Eleodoro Ortiz de Zárate and of María Cristina Pinto Errázuriz...
, Marie Vassilieff
Marie Vassilieff
Mariya Ivanovna Vassiliéva , , better known as Marie Vassilieff, was a Russian painter....
, and also from Montmartre: Max Jacob
Max Jacob
Max Jacob was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic.-Life and career:After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, France, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic career...
, and Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
. He was at home in the world of artists, collectors, and gallerists. He introduced Leo and Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein was an American writer, poet and art collector who spent most of her life in France.-Early life:...
to Picasso in November 1905. Leo described Roché as “a tall man with an inquiring eye under an inquisitive forehead, wanted to know something more about everything. He was a born liaison officer, who knew everybody and wanted everybody to know everybody else." Roché is also mentioned in Gertrude Stein's The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas is a 1933 book by Gertrude Stein, written in the guise of an autobiography authored by Alice B. Toklas, who was her lover.-Summary:-Before I came to Paris:...
, chapter 3, in much the same terms. She particularly remembered him for having read Three Lives and recognized early her value as a writer.
Henri-Pierre Roché was also a friend of Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia was a French painter, poet, and typographist, associated with both the Dada and Surrealist art movements.- Early life :...
, Constantin Brâncuşi
Constantin Brancusi
Constantin Brâncuşi was a Romanian-born sculptor who made his career in France. As a child he displayed an aptitude for carving wooden farm tools. Formal studies took him first to Bucharest, then to Munich, then to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris...
, and Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. Considered by some to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Duchamp's output influenced the development of post-World War I Western art...
, with whom he traveled to New York city
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1916 following his discharge from the French army. There, he and Duchamp teamed up with Beatrice Wood
Beatrice Wood
Beatrice Wood was an American artist and studio potter, who late in life was dubbed the "Mama of Dada," and served as a partial inspiration for the character of Rose DeWitt Bukater in James Cameron's 1997 film, Titanic...
to create The Blind Man
The Blind Man
The Blind Man was an art and Dada journal published by the New York Dadaists in 1917.Henri-Pierre Roche, Beatrice Wood, and Mina Loy contributed to the first, Independents' Number issue; Walter Arensberg , Gabrielle Buffet-Picabia , Robert Carlton Brown , Frank Crowninshield , Charles Demuth The...
, a magazine that was one of the earliest manifestations of the Dada
Dada
Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-war politics through a...
art movement in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Noted for his womanizing, Roché married twice. In his later years, he wrote two successful novels, though the success of the novels came only after his death. Though biographies of Beatrice Wood link Roché's first novel (and the subsequent film), Jules et Jim
Jules and Jim
Jules and Jim is a 1962 French film directed by François Truffaut based on Henri-Pierre Roché's 1953 semi-autobiographical novel about his relationship with writer Franz Hessel and his wife, Helen Grund....
, with the love triangle between Duchamp, Wood, and himself, other sources link their triangle to Roché's unfinished novel, Victor. Jules et Jim was based on the triangle between Roché, Franz Hessel
Franz Hessel
Franz Hessel was a German writer and translator.With Walter Benjamin, he produced a German translation of Marcel Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu....
, who translated Marcel Proust
Marcel Proust
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu...
into German, as did the character Jim, and Helen Grund, who became Hessel's wife. Beatrice Wood commented on this topic on p. 136 of her 1985 autobiography, I Shock Myself:
His second major novel, also based on an episode of his life, was published in 1956 as Les deux anglaises et le continent
Two English Girls
Two English Girls , is a 1971 French romantic drama film directed by François Truffaut and based on a 1956 novel by Henri-Pierre Roché...
. Both novels, although written by a man who was quite advanced in age, exude a surprising amount of vitality and freshness not often seen in French romantic stories of the time. French director François Truffaut
François Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...
, who befriended Roché when Roché was in his final years, was so impressed by them that he went on to adapt both to the big screen. The adaptation of Jules and Jim by Truffaut was the main cause of the book's belated success.
Henri-Pierre Roché died in 1959 in Sèvres
Sèvres
Sèvres is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.The town is known for its porcelain manufacture, the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres, making the famous Sèvres porcelain, as well as being the location of the International Bureau of Weights...
, Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine is designated number 92 of the 101 départements in France. It is part of the Île-de-France region, and covers the western inner suburbs of Paris...
.