Victor Brauner – Bestiaire, Exhibition Poster, Paris 1963

Original lithographic poster for the exhibition Bestiaire by Victor Brauner, held at Le Point Cardinal gallery in Paris from 20 November to the end of December 1963. Printed on heavy wove paper, the poster features Brauner’s signature surrealist bestiary: whimsical, hybrid creatures rendered in flat tones of white, blue, and ochre, combining humor with strangeness in a childlike yet unsettling style.

The text is playfully integrated into the composition: the word BESTIAIRE appears in bright blue, its letters formed from bird-like shapes with beaks and talons, echoing the exhibition theme. Above, two enigmatic animal figures with piercing eyes and jagged teeth highlight Brauner’s fascination with the symbolic and the dreamlike.

Victor Brauner (1903–1966), a Romanian-born painter and sculptor, was closely associated with the Surrealist movement in Paris, where he exhibited with André Breton’s circle. His work, often populated by hybrid beings, totems, and fantastical creatures, reflects his deep interest in mysticism, mythology, and the unconscious. Today, Brauner is recognized as one of the most original voices of Surrealism.  Although not an “outsider” artist in a literal sense, Brauner is often associated with Art Brut or Outsider Art because of his fascination with the raw, unfiltered creativity found in spiritualism, the unconscious, folk art, and so-called “outsider” expressions.

Texts below image:
VICTOR BRAUNER
BESTIAIRE
20 NOVEMBRE – FIN DÉCEMBRE 1963
LE POINT CARDINAL
3 RUE JACOB – 3 RUE CARDINALE – 12 RUE DE L’ÉCHAUDE-SAINT-GERMAIN
PARIS VI