Irene Hamoir

Irene Hamoir (1906-1994), poetess and novelist, is the central female figure of the surrealist movement in Belgium. Marry Louis Scutenaire, it appears constantly under the name of “Lorrie” in its Inscriptions but also in the drawings and the painting of Rene Magritte.

Biography

Irene Hamoir is born the July 25th 1906 with Saint-Gilles (Brussels). His/her father Léopold Hamoir is hatter. His/her paternal grandmother, unmarried, had two wire of Léopold Noiset, racing cyclist, manufacturer of vélocipèdes, director of drive of the Swift-club of Brussels, which made towards 1890 of the four others of his/her children bearing his name a troop of equilibrists with bicycle to which joint one Léopold moment. The attraction of “Nice Noazetts” then, become adult, of “The Noisets” will meet an international success, carrying out with motor bikes and cars of the spectacular numbers (“the Infernal Tank”, “the Table of the Devil”, “the Leap of death”). Irene Hamoir will evoke the rounds of her uncles in the first news of her collection the infernal Tank , written between 1932 and 1939, then in an article published in 1949 in the illustrated Evening .

In 1922 Irene Hamoir is, after commercial studies, secretary in a tannery-dyeing. Militant Socialist, it takes part around 1924 in many meetings, approaches Camille Huysmans thus, written in 1925 its first poem, meets with a course of the evening for journalists the painter Marc. Eemans with which it binds. This one collaborating in Distances , the first review which gathers the surrealist group of Brussels, Irene Hamoir makes knowledge in 1928 of Louis Scutenaire, at Marcel Lecomte. It enters in 1929 as secretary to the Economic and Financial Agency of Brussels, while Scutenaire does not cease writing poetic letters daily to him. She marries it in 1930 and, after a voyage to Paris and in Spain, settles Rue of the Alfalfa where he lives with his mother.

Irene Hamoir begins in 1931 a career of civil servant at the International Court of justice, travelling between Geneva and $the Hague where Scutenaire comes sometimes to join it, which entered to the Bar of Brussels. Beyond the meetings of the group of Brussels, with in particular Paul Nougé, the brothers Magritte, the musician Andre Souris, Marcel Lecomte, E.L.T. Mesens, Paul Colinet, Marcel Mariën, both bind with the surrealist ones of Paris. Irene Hamoir takes part in 1935 in the International exhibition of surrealism to Louvière, Rene Magritte paints the following year her portrait. In August 1937 Scutenaire remain with Céreste (Provence) at Rene Char. the beauty broke its odd sheath, gave pinks to the fountains writes it then of Irene Hamoir, being shown as with the practice undertaking, until finding it in $the Hague in November, and the relationship between “Scut” and Tank feels some. In 1939 Irene Hamoir leaves her post of civil servant, collaborating in the two numbers of the review the collective Invention (with a photograph of Raoul Ubac).

Irene Hamoir and Scutenaire leave Brussels in May 1940 with Magritte, Agui and Raoul Ubac. Being separated in Paris, they are found with Carcassonne where they meet Joe Bousquet, Jean Paulhan, André Gide, Gaston Gallimard and, after a turning by Nice, return in October to Brussels where Irene Hamoir works in 1941 at the National Bank of Belgium then, of 1942 with 1945, with the direction of the sales of the Belgian Chemical Union. Its collection of news the Infernal Tank appears in 1944 and, entered in the drafting of the newspaper the Evening , Irene Hamoir collaborates in 1945 in the reviews public Safety , the Blue sky and the Earth is not a Vale of tears which Marcel Mariën animates. It publishes poems in 1946 in the the Two sisters whom Christian Dotremont directs, the second number presenting a “exquisite corpse” signed Rene Char, Paul Éluard, Scutenaire and Irene Hamoir, still takes part in the To know To live published by Magritte.

After the publication in 1949, under the name of “Irine”, of poetic sound Œuvre Irene Hamoir collaborates in the following years in several other reviews, in particular starting from 1953 with mixed Temps , created by André Blavier and Jane Graverol. The same year is published its novel Boulevard Jacqmain , in which the members of the Belgian surrealist group appear under nicknames, Nouguier for Paul Nougé, Gritto for Rene Magritte, Maître Bridge for Scutenaire, Edouard Massens for E.L.T. Mesens, Bergère for Georgette Magritte, Marquis for Paul Magritte, Sourire for Andre Souris, Mr Marcel for Lecomte, Evrard for Geert Van Bruane, Crépue for itself… In 1955 Irene Hamoir starts to write tickets of mood for the Petite Gazette . She writes for the Evening , at the time of their disappearances, of the homages to Gerald Van Bruane in 1964, in Marcel Lecomte in 1966, before taking her retirement.

Irene Hamoir publishes thereafter several plates of poems in 1971, 1972 and 1975. In the same decade it prefaces, generally with Scutenaire, the exposures of their friends painters (Roland Delcol, Tom Gutt, Yves Bossut, Claudine Jamagne, Rachel Bases, Robert Willems, Roger Van de Wouwer) and collaborates regularly in the review the Vocative published by Tom Gutt who, with Isy Brachot, gathers in 1976 his poetic work in Corne of brown . In 1982 Irene Hamoir and Scutenaire sign “It and him” a foreword for the retrospective Rene Magritte and surrealism in Belgium . After the death of Scutenaire in 1987, elements of their correspondences with Andre Bosmans, Paul Nougé, Marcel Mariën, are published in the review the Naked Lips . In 1992 are published Croquis of street , which gathers its chronicles for the Evening . She dies in Brussels the May 17th 1994.

In the legacy “Irene Scutenaire-Hamoir”, whose Tom Gutt is the executor, with the royal Museum of modern art in Brussels (royal Musées of the Art schools of Belgium appear many works of the painter (more than one score of paintings, a score of gouaches, forty drawings, etc) which were with the walls of their house of the street of the Alfalfa, in particular: in particular: Portrait of Nougé , 1927; the Robber , 1927; Discovered , 1927; Character meditating on the madness , 1928; Portrait of Irene Hamoir , 1936; defended Reading , 1936; Beautiful Canto , 1938; the Great hopes , 1940; the Fifth season , 1943; the Smile , 1943; the Harvest , 1943; Good fortune , 1945; natural Meetings , 1945; Thousand and One Nights , 1946; the Intelligence , 1946; Lyricism , 1947; Lola de Valence , 1948 (whose images are visible on the site of the royal Museums of the Art schools of Belgium).

Random links:

_d'USS_Sargo_(SS-188)