[Francis PONGE - Jean SIGNOVERT] - Lot 16

Lot n° 16
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100 - 150 EUR
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[Francis PONGE - Jean SIGNOVERT] - Lot 16
[Francis PONGE - Jean SIGNOVERT] A collection of corrected autograph manuscripts, including 3 signed autograph letters addressed to Jean Signovert. Dated 1970 and 1971. A collection of autograph documents written in felt-tip pen on paper, comprising three signed letters by Francis Ponge addressed to the painter and engraver Jean Signovert (1919–1981), as well as several literary texts, including *Nuits chaudes*, *La Foule politique*, and *L’Hiver*. The manuscript containing the texts features handwritten revisions: cross-outs, word substitutions, interlinear additions, and notes regarding the organization of the texts. In *La Foule politique*, Ponge draws a parallel between popular demonstrations and nature’s grand spectacles, comparing their spontaneity, in particular, to that of a plowed field, a forest, or the sea. The manuscript of *L’Hiver* provides an even more direct insight into the writer’s literary process. The successive corrections and additions allow us to trace the progression of his thought and his search for precise wording. At the bottom of the page, Ponge adds this particularly significant note: “The order of these texts may be reversed, if necessary. F. P.” This note reveals that the texts were conceived as a collection whose arrangement remained subject to change. The letter addressed to Jean Signovert places these documents in the context of the poet’s relationship with the engraver. Close to many artists of his time, notably Georges Braque, Roger Chastel, and Serge Poliakoff, Signovert played an active role in the physical production of their engravings and in various projects combining literature and the graphic arts. This collection thus bears witness to Francis Ponge’s writing process and his exchanges with Jean Signovert. The presence of corrected manuscripts, accompanied by instructions regarding their arrangement, suggests the preparation of a presentation or publication project, the exact purpose of which remains to be determined. Provenance: Jean SIGNOVERT studio collection.
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