Although each created their own work, they had a huge influence on each other and on their own might never have reached where they did...
Paul Éluard (1895-1952) and Nusch Éluard (1906-1946)
The future muse of the famous French poet was born Maria Benz in 1906 in the city of Mulhouse. The nickname “Nusch” was given to her by the Swiss architect and former lover Max Bill. In 1928, she moved to Paris, where she earned extra money as a hypnotist’s assistant and stage artist, later as a model. Two years later, she met her future husband, Paul Éluard, a poet and one of the founders of surrealism. In 1929, after a fateful visit from Dalí, Éluard divorced his long-time wife Gala, who was so charmed by Dalí that she began a love affair with him almost immediately after this visit. Four years after meeting the beautiful and young Nusch, Éluard married her in 1934... (Full article HERE - only in Slovak)
Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) and Lee Krasner (1908 – 1984)
They first met in 1942, when they were exhibiting in the same gallery. At the time, Lee Krasner was enjoying greater appreciation for her work than Jackson. She did not know Pollock at all, but his work captivated her, so she decided to visit his studio. They married 3 years later and settled on Long Island, almost penniless. He painted in the barn and she in a room on the first floor. Lee saw great potential in Pollock and it was she who guided and encouraged him in his experimentation. She had a significant influence on "finishing" his now famous technique of "drip painting", which he had begun working with even before they met. At her instigation, he began to label his works with numbers instead of names. Lee Kraasner was 4 years older than Pollock and immediately became his quasi-mentor. She introduced him to other artists, collectors, art critics and especially Peggy Guggenheim. It was the meeting with Peggy that later proved to be very important for his later successful career... (Full article HERE - only in Slovak)
Max Ernst (1891 – 1976) and Dorothea Tanning (1910 – 2012)
These two pioneers of surrealism first met at a party in 1942 in New York. An acquaintance introduced Dorothea to the surrealist circle, which included the then-famous representative of this movement - Max Ernst. He later visited her in his studio when he was looking for new female talents for his wife Peggy Guggenheim's exhibition called 31 Women. Dorothea eventually not only exhibited there, but she also managed to win Ernst's heart. They fell in love during a long game of chess. Shortly after that, he moved in with her and was married to Peggy for only a year. He eventually divorced in 1946, and that same year he married his fourth wife, Dorothea Tanning, in a double wedding with Man Ray and Juliet Browner. When Ernst was denied American citizenship in 1957, the couple moved to France, where they lived until Ernst's death in 1976. They both did very well in Europe. Ernst managed to win the main prize at the Venice Biennale, which was no small feat, and Tanning managed to establish herself on the art scene on her own, not in the shadow or alongside her successful husband... (Full article HERE - only in Slovak)