Art Connections and Relations in Grasse Between 1940 and 1942: Hans Artp, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Alberto Magnelli, Sonia Delaunay

Abstract

The paper is dedicated to the historical analysis of the so-called Groupe de Grasse (1940-1942), made up by political refugees and exiled artists waiting for a visa to emigrate in the United States, who eventually lived together in Grasse sharing each other anxieties, fears and hopes under the regime of Vichy. After a short introduction concerning the history of various artistic groups born in Southern France between 1940 and 1943, special attention is dedicated to the contribution of each artist from the Groupe de Grasse and to his or her idea of “artistic collectivity”. Therefore, the aim is to show the divergencies, or even the similarities, of their works regarding their own previous backgrounds. From a methodological point of view, a strictly historical approach has been adopted by using unpublished letters, photographs and rare books from the Stiftung Hans Arp in Berlin.