Toyen | |
|---|---|
 Toyen in 1930 | |
| Born | Marie Čermínová 21 September 1902 |
| Died | 9 November 1980 (aged 78) Paris, France |
| Resting place | Batignolles Cemetery, Paris, France |
| Nationality | Czechoslovak |
| Education | Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague |
| Occupations | |
| Partner | Jindřich Štyrský |
| Signature | |
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Toyen with Karel Teige in 1925
Toyen (born Marie Čermínová; 21 September 1902 – 9 November 1980) was a Czech painter, drafter, and illustrator and a member of the surrealist movement.
In 1923, the artist adopted the professional pseudonym Toyen. The name Toyen has been suggested to be derived from the French word 'citoyen,' meaning citizen, but it has also been proposed to be a play on the Czech expression ‘to je on’ (‘it is he’).[1][2][3] Toyen favored this gender-neutral mononym (in Czech the family name is gendered, with women's names ending in "ová") and would speak the language in the masculine singular form.[4] Vítězslav Nezval wrote that Toyen "refused... to use the feminine endings" when speaking in the first person.[5]
- ^ Srp, Karel (2011). New Formations: Czech Avant-Garde and Modern Glass from the Roy and Mary Cullen Collection. Museum Fine Arts Houston.
- ^ "Toyen Biography". Sotheby's. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "Toyen". National Galleries of Scotland. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ Huebner, Karla (2008). Eroticism, Identity, and Cultural Context: Toyen and the Prague Avant-Garde. University of Pittsburgh.
- ^ Huebner, Karla (2016). Czech Feminisms: Perspectives on Gender in East Central Europe. Indiana University Press.