Louis Scutenaire

Louis Scutenaire (1905-1987) joined the Surrealist Group in 1926. For years, he supplied his friend René Magritte with titles for his paintings, in addition to publishing poems and prose in Surrealist magazines under his birth name, Jean Scutenaire. Meanwhile, he worked as a criminal lawyer, and later in the Belgian Ministry of the Interior. ‘Scut,’ as he was affectionately known by legions of readers, was most famous for his aphorisms, first published in 1945 as “Mes Inscriptions.” All told, five full-length volumes of inscriptions were published, the last posthumously. After World War II, Scutenaire pulled away some from official Surrealism, though he stayed close to Magritte and active in avant-garde circles. In the 1950’s he came out as an anarchist, after decades in the Communist Party.