Guillaume Apollinaire

Guillaume Apollinaire was born Wilhelm Albert Wlodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki in 1880 in Rome, the illegitimate son of a Polish noblewoman and, most likely, an Italian officer. He grew up in Monaco and the south of France before settling in Paris, where he quickly became a central figure in the avant-garde circles that were transforming European art. He championed Cubism, coined the term "Surrealism," wrote art criticism that helped establish Picasso and Matisse, and produced poetry and prose that pushed the boundaries of literary form. He was also a legendary bon vivant, a tireless lover, and a man of enormous personal charm who held the fractious Parisian art world together through the sheer force of his personality. This author hub collects 1 work in the Canon Compass ranking, led by Alcools.