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 extended across artistic movements including Futurism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism. A cosmopolitan figure who travelled extensively throughout Europe from an early age, Apollinaire settled in Paris, where he became a leading member of the avant-garde circle that included Picasso, Braque, Miró, Rousseau and Duchamp. Although never fully associated with a single movement, he was an inspiration to many artistic groups, and his name became synonymous with challenging conventions and opposing bourgeois society and the status quo. The terms Cubism and Surrealism are also attributed to him.
