Guillaume Apollinaire
France (1880—1918)
Apollinaire is considered one of the most influential literary figures of the 20th century. Despite his short life (he died of Spanish flu at the age of 38), his influence spans across artistic movements, from Futurism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism. A cosmopolitan figure, well travelled all over Europe since his early years, Apollinaire settled in Paris as a leading member of the avant-garde circle, including Picasso, Braque, Miró, Rousseau and Duchamp. Although never fully associated with a single movement, he represented an inspiration for many other artistic groups and his name became synonymous of challenging conventions and antagonism towards bourgeois society and status quo. The terms Cubism and Surrealism are also attributed to him.
