Robert Descharnes
Robert P. Descharnes (January 1, 1926—February 15, 2014) was a French photographer, filmmaker, and author. He is best known for his collaboration with Salvador Dali, on whom he authored many reference books.
Biography
Descharnes was born in Nevers on January 1, 1926. In 1950, he met Dali on a ship while he was the photographer. The two formed a close bond, and collaborated on the experimental film L'Aventure prodigieuse de la dentellière et du rhinocéros, which was never released. He became Dali's personal secretary in 1981, and rescued him from a fire at his apartment in 1984.[1] Descharnes collected over 60,000 negatives of Dali's daily life, a fraction of which Descharnes infrequenty exhibited in art museums.[2]
For over 40 years, he fought to protect's Dali's legacy from forgeries and fakes. He wrote several reference books on the man's life and work. Descharnes was named a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2011. He died at the age of 88 at his home in Indre-et-Loire on February 18, 2014.[1]
At the end of an authentic will received on May 8, 2004 by Maître Éric Matuziak, solicitor in La Baule-Escoublac, registered, Robert Descharnes in declared: "I establish as legatee of the morale right that I possess in my author quality, so many my papers as my photos, paintings and drawings, my son, Mister Nicolas Robert Guillaume Descharnes. [...] I indicate on this occasion that I passed on to him knowledge and competence as for the work of Salvador Dalí and that he is the heir of my capacities of expertise."
Publications
- Dalí de Gala, Edita, Lausanne, 1962.
- Oui 1 : la Révolution paranoïaque-critique, Éditions Denoël, Paris, 1971.
- Oui 2 : l'Archangélisme scientifique, Éditions Denoël, Paris, 1971.
- Salvador Dalí, Nouvelles Éditions Françaises, Paris, 1973.
- Tadao, Ogura, Salvador Dalí, Shueisha collection l'Art Moderne du Monde, Tokyo ( 25), 1974.
- Salvador Dalí, Bijitsu Shuppan-Sha, Tokyo, 1978.
- Terayama, S., Dalí: The Book of Great Masters, Shogakukan, Tokyo, 1978.
- Dalí, l’œuvre et l’homme, Edita, Lausanne, 1984
- Dalí, L'Héritage Infernal, Éditions Ramsay-La Marge, Paris, 2002.
References
- 1 2 "Décès de Robert Descharnes, l'homme qui avait sauvé Salvador Dalí". Le Figaro (in French). February 18, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
- ↑ Ayala, Christina (February 21, 2014). "French artist, Salvador Dali's secretary and biographer Robert Descharnes, dies at age 88". ArtDaily. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
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