Blaise Cendrars

Swiss-French novelist and poet, naturalized French in 1916. He was a writer of considerable influence in the modernist movement. He became acquainted with Parisian artists and writers such as Chagall, Léger, Survage, Modigliani, Csaky, Archipenko, Jean Hugo ,Robert Delaunay, Henry Miller and Jean Cocteau.

Sauser left his parental home at the age of 15 and began an apprenticeship with a jewelry-maker. He travelled for a big part of his life and visited China, Mongolia, Iran, the Caucasus and Russia. He had many jobs until he went to study medicines and philosophy in Bern.

He moved to Paris in 1910 where he met the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, under his influence and the experience of his world travel he began to cultivate his own style. In his poem Prose du Transsibérien et de la petite Jeanne de France he describes his world travel. His carreer as a writer got interrupted by World War I. He fought in the French Foreign Legion from December 1914 till February 1915. He lost his right arm in battle and got dismissed from the army. He wrote about his experiences in La main coupée (the cut hand) and J’ai tué (I have killed).

(the portret painting of Blaise Cendrars is from Modigliani)