born Jan. 5, 1900, Paris, France
died Jan. 15, 1955 Waterbury, Conn., U.S.
French painter.
In 1923, after serving in the merchant marine, he was inspired to start painting when he saw the works of Giorgio de Chirico , though he had no formal art training. He joined the Surrealist group in 1925 and participated in all their major exhibitions. He developed a unique style, reminiscent of Salvador Dalí 's, depicting strange, amorphous creatures and unidentifiable objects set in barren, brightly lit landscapes with infinite horizons. Despite their smooth, painstaking detail, his pictures have a timeless, dreamlike quality (e.g., The Invisibles , 1951). He emigrated to the U.S. in 1939.