The Chosen Land of Black Humor: André Breton’s Construction of Mexico

Abstract

This essay discusses the construction of Mexico in the writings of André Breton as “the surrealist place par excellence.” I focus on Breton’s claim that Mexico is “the chosen land of black humor” through an analysis of his literary sources and his engagement with the printmaker José Guadalupe Posada. I then address Breton’s presentation of Mexico in France through the 1939 exhibition Mexique, which was Frida Kahlo’s Parisian debut, and the article “Souvenir du Mexique,” published in the surrealist journal Minotaure.

Keywords

• surrealism
• black humor
• mexican art
• andré breton
• frida kahlo
• josé guadalupe posada
• surrealist exhibitions