The Jean Crotti papers were donated in two installments in 1981 by Andr?© Buckles and Alice Buckles Brown, Crotti's great-nephew and great-niece.
Two sketches and a print were also lent by Andr?© Buckles in 1981 for microfilming on reels 2394-2395 and returned. This material is not described in the container listing of this finding aid.
This site provides access to the papers of
Materials not digitized include an etching plate by Crotti and photographs of artwork. Only the covers and title pages of most published books and exhibition catalogs were scanned.
Portions of the collection were microfilmed on reels 2394-2395 shortly after donation. Previously microfilmed and unmicrofilmed portions were merged, arranged, and described by Jean Fitzgerald in April 2009, and the collection was digitized in 2010 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Jean Crotti papers, 1913-1973, bulk 1913-1961. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
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Jean Crotti (1870-1958) was a Dadist painter who worked primarily in Paris, France and New York. He was married to Suzanne Duchamp, Marcel Duchamp's sister, and friends with notable avant-garde and Dada European and American painters of the period. He is also known for creating the "Gemmail" technique of layering colored glass that produced unique color combinations when illuminated.
Jean Crotti was born April 24, 1878 in Bulle, near Fribourg, Switzerland, the son of a painting contractor. The family moved to Fribourg in 1887.
Beginning in 1898, Crotti struggled with questions of a religious and spiritual nature while at the School of Decorative Arts in Munich. Dissatisfied there, he moved to Paris in 1901, where he spent a year studying at the Acad?©mie Julian under Tony-Robert Fleury and Jules Lefebvre. Still dissatisfied in 1902, he established a small independent studio in the Rue Fontaine.
Crotti exhibited a canvas at the Salon des Ind?©pendants in 1907, and was accepted as a member of the Salon d'Automne in 1909. From 1910 to 1912, he was influenced by Cubism and its offshoot, Orphism.
To escape from wartime Paris in 1914, Crotti and his first wife, Yvonne Chastel, moved to New York City where Crotti had his first solo exhibition at the Bourgeois Gallery. In 1915, Crotti met Francis Picabia and also shared a studio with Marcel Duchamp who was a major influence. Crotti began his Dada period and was included in an exhibition of French paintings at the Montross Gallery in New York, with Duchamp, Albert Gleizes, and Jean Metzinger.
Crotti separated from his first wife, Yvonne Chastel, in 1916 and returned to Paris alone. By 1917, Crotti's marriage had dissolved and he married Suzanne Duchamp in 1919. Crotti met Suzanne Duchamp, also a painter, through his friendship with her brother Marcel Duchamp. During this time, Crotti completed and exhibited paintings associated with the Dada movement. One of his more notable works was entitled
In 1935 Crotti began to research a new technique using layers of colored glass, referred to as "gemmail." The term is a contraction of "gem" referring to the colored glass and "enamel" referring to the method of affixing the pieces of glass to each other. After much experimentation, an "enamel" fixative was found that would permanently hold the glass pieces in place while still allowing light to shine through all the layers. Several prominent artists including Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso became interested in using this medium. Crotti had the process patented, but in 1955 ceded the rights to Roger Malherbe who adapted it to commercial uses.
Jean Crotti died on January 30, 1958 in Paris, France.
The papers of French Dada painter Jean Crotti measure 1.7 linear feet and date from 1913 to 1973, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1913-1961. Among the papers are autobiographical essays, correspondence with friends and family, including many letters from Marcel Duchamp, notes and writings by and about Crotti, printed materials, one scrapbook, drawings by Crotti and others, photographs of Crotti and his family and friends, photographs of artwork, and three audio recordings of interviews with Crotti.
Biographical material consists of autobiographical notes and an autobiographical manuscript
Correspondence is with family members and colleagues. Correspondents include his brother Andr?©, wife Suzanne Duchamp, and other family members. There are eleven folders of correspondence between Suzanne's brother Marcel Duchamp and the Crotti family. A 1918 letter from Duchamp to Crotti is illustrated by Duchamp. Additional letters to Jean Crotti are from Jean Cocteau, Albert Gleizes, Georges Herbiet a.k.a. "Christian", Henri Matisse, Francis Picabia, and Jacques Villon. Three folders of letters from Georges Herbiet a.k.a. "Christian" include references to Francis Picabia and Germaine Everling and discussions of art criticism and Picabia's role in avant-garde art movements. Herbiet also describes a new painting procedure that he claims to have invented using a product that is impervious to acids, water, oil, or alcohol. There is a single letter from Jean Crotti to Pablo Picasso following their meeting in Cannes in which Crotti discusses a design with spheres and includes a sketch of his idea. There are also single letters to Crotti from Raoul Dufy, Walter Pach, and actor Pierre Renoir.
Notes and writings include poems, a script, and miscellaneous writings by Crotti concerning his art theories including "Tabu" and gemmail. Writings about Crotti are by miscellaneous authors including writers Waldemar George, Andr?© Salmon, and artists Armand Nakache, Am?©d?© Ozenfant, and Michel Seuphor.
Art work includes seven folders of drawings and an etching plate by Crotti, 83 drawings by Paul Guillaume, and portrait drawings of Crotti by Henri Coudour and Francis Picabia.
A scrapbook contains clippings, a letter from Paul Guillaume and a letter to Elizabeth Crotti from a friend describing a 1932 Jean Crotti exhibition in the Balzac Galleries in New York City, and a typescript "Una Collezione a Parigi" by Gino Severini.
Additional printed material includes clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs for Crotti and others, reproductions of art work, and books
Photographs are of Crotti, his family, friends, colleagues, and art work by Crotti and by Suzanne Duchamp. Of particular interest are photographs of composer Edgard Var?¨se and his wife Louise with Suzanne Duchamp, Jean Crotti, and art advocate Mary Reynolds in 1924, photographs of Crotti and Georges Braque examining a gemmail art work, and photographs of Crotti and Suzanne Duchamp talking with Pablo Picasso at Cannes and at the home of Bertrande Blancpain in 1957.
Sound recordings include two phonograph records of interviews with Jean Crotti, including topics "Assignment Switzerland" and "Assignment World." A third phonograph record contains an instantatneous disk recording of correspondence between Mr. and Mrs. Paul Blancpain as well as an additional interview with Crotti.
The collection is arranged as 8 series:
Biographical material consists of autobiographical notes and an autobiographical manuscript
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Autobiographical Notes
Autobiographical Notes
Autobiographical Manuscript
Correspondence is with family members and colleagues, including his brother André, wife Suzanne Duchamp, brother-in-law Marcel Duchamp, Jean Cocteau, Albert Gleizes, Georges Herbiet a.k.a. "Christian", Henri Matisse, Francis Picabia (includes a photograph of Picabia), and Jacques Villon.
There are eleven folders of correspondence with Marcel Duchamp, mostly letters written by Duchamp to Jean Crotti, Suzanne Duchamp, and other family members. A 1918 letter from Duchamp to Crotti is illustrated by Duchamp. Three folders of letters from Georges Herbiet a.k.a. "Christian" include references to Francis Picabia and Germaine Everling and discussions of art criticism and Picabia's role in avant-garde art movements. Herbiet also describes a new painting procedure that he claims to have invented using a product that is impervious to acids, water, oil, or alcohol.
Also among the correspondence is one letter to Pablo Picasso discussing a design with spheres and a sketch, and single letters from Raoul Dufy, Walter Pach, actor Pierre Renoir, and Henri Matisse. The letter from Matisse discusses the design of a palette.
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Letters from Georges Herbiet a.k.a. "Christian" to Jean Crotti
Letters from Georges Herbiet a.k.a. "Christian" to Jean Crotti
Letters from Georges Herbiet a.k.a. "Christian" to Jean Crotti
Letters from Jean Cocteau to Jean Crotti
Letters from Jean Crotti to André, Marie, and Lysbeth Crotti
Letters from Jean Crotti to André, Marie, and Lysbeth Crotti
Letters from Jean Crotti to André, Marie, and Lysbeth Crotti
Letters from Jean Crotti to André, Marie, and Lysbeth Crotti
Letter from Jean Crotti to Marcel Duchamp
Letters from Jean Crotti to Suzanne Duchamp
Letter from Jean Crotti to Pablo Picasso
Letters from Jean Crotti to Miscellaneous Colleagues
Letters from Pierre De Massot to Jean Crotti
Letters from Roland Dorgeles to Jean Crotti
Letters from Marcel Duchamp to Jean Crotti, Yvonne Crotti, and Suzanne Duchamp
Letters from Marcel Duchamp to Jean Crotti, Yvonne Crotti, and Suzanne Duchamp
Letters from Marcel Duchamp to Jean Crotti, Yvonne Crotti, and Suzanne Duchamp
Letters from Marcel Duchamp to Jean Crotti, Yvonne Crotti, and Suzanne Duchamp
Includes an illustrated letter from Duchamp
Letters from Marcel Duchamp to Jean Crotti, Yvonne Crotti, and Suzanne Duchamp
Letters from Marcel Duchamp to Jean Crotti, Yvonne Crotti, and Suzanne Duchamp
Letters from Marcel Duchamp to Jean Crotti, Yvonne Crotti, and Suzanne Duchamp
Letters from Marcel Duchamp to Jean Crotti, Yvonne Crotti, and Suzanne Duchamp
Letters from Marcel Duchamp to Jean Crotti, Yvonne Crotti, and Suzanne Duchamp
Letters from Marcel Duchamp to Jean Crotti, Yvonne Crotti, and Suzanne Duchamp
Letter from Raoul Dufy to Jean Crotti
Letters from Waldemar George to Jean Crotti
Letters from Albert Gleizes to Jean Crotti
Letters from Henri Matisse to Jean Crotti
Letter from Walter Pach to Jean Crotti
Letters from Clément Pansaers to Jean Crotti
Letters from Francis Picabia to Jan Crotti
Letters from Francis Picabia to Jan Crotti
Letter from Pierre Renoir to Jean Crotti
Letters from André Salmon to Jean Crotti
Letters from Paul Signac to Jean Crotti
Letters from L. Stoppelaére Jean Crotti
Letters from Jean Villern (?) to Jean Crotti
Letters from Jacques Villon to Jean Crotti and Suzanne Duchamp
Letters from Jacques Villon to Jean Crotti and Suzanne Duchamp
Letters from Miscellaneous Correspondents to Jean Crotti
Letters from Miscellaneous Correspondents to Jean Crotti
Letters from Miscellaneous Correspondents to Jean Crotti
Letters from Miscellaneous Correspondents to Jean Crotti
Notes and writings include poems, a script, and miscellaneous writings by Crotti concerning his art theories. Miscellaneous writings by others are primarily about Crotti.
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Lists of Art Work
Miscellaneous Notes
Poems by Jean Crotti
Script
Notebook and Writings Concerning
Notebook and Writings Concerning
Miscellaneous Writings by Jean Crotti
Miscellaneous Writings by Jean Crotti
Miscellaneous Writings by Jean Crotti
Miscellaneous Writings by Jean Crotti
Miscellaneous Writings by Jean Crotti
Miscellaneous Writings by Jean Crotti
Miscellaneous Writings by Jean Crotti
Miscellaneous Writings by Jean Crotti
Manuscript about Jean Crotti by Jean Bouret; Typescript about Jean Crotti by Jean Cassou
Typescript about Jean Crotti by Raymond Cogniat
Writings about Jean Crotti by Waldemar George
Writings about Jean Crotti by Georges-Armand Masson; Typescripts about Jean Crotti by Jean-Daniel Maublanc
Typescript "Rapport de la Commission des Fêtes de la Société des Amateurs d'Art" by René Idzkowski
Manuscripts about Jean Crotti by Claude Méran
Typescript about Jean Crotti by Armand Nakache
Typescript about Jean Crotti by Amédée Ozenfant
Writings about Jean Crotti by André Salmon
Typescript about Jean Crotti by Michel Seuphor
Writings about Jean Crotti by Miscellaneous Authors
Writings about Jean Crotti by Miscellaneous Authors
Writings about Jean Crotti by Miscellaneous Authors
Art work consists of drawings by Crotti and others including a portrait of Crotti by Francis Picabia, and drawings by paul Guillaume. Also included is an etching plate created by Crotti.
The bulk of this series has been scanned. Items not digitized include the etching plate and a folder of photographs of works of art loaned by Crotti to the Archives of American Art for microfilming.
Drawings by Jean Crotti
Drawings by Jean Crotti
Drawings by Jean Crotti
Drawings by Jean Crotti
Oversized Material also housed in Box 3
Drawings by Jean Crotti
Drawings by Jean Crotti
Drawing of Jean Crotti by Henri Coudour
Drawing by Paul Guillaume
Drawing of Jean Crotti by Francis Picabia
Oversized material scanned with Box 1, Folder 77
The scrapbook contains clippings, a letter from Paul Guillaume and a letter to Elizabeth Crotti from a friend describing a 1932 Jean Crotti exhibition in the Balzac Galleries in New York City, and a typescript by Gino Severini.
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Scrapbook
Printed material includes clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs for Crotti and others, reproductions of art work, and books about Crotti.
This series has been partially scanned. Items not scanned include a folder of reproductions of works of art by Crotti. Also, published books and catalogs of which only the covers and title pages are scanned.
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Oversized material housed in Box 3, Folder 2
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
(partially scanned)
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
(partially scanned)
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
(partially scanned)
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
(partially scanned)
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
(partially scanned)
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
(partially scanned)
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
(partially scanned)
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
(partially scanned)
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
(partially scanned)
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Oversized material housed in Box 3, Folder 2
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs for Others
Miscellaneous Printed Material
Oversized material housed in Box 3, Folder 2
Miscellaneous Printed Material
Oversized material scanned with Box 1, Folder 104
Oversized material Scanned with Box 2, Folder 3
Oversized material scanned with Box 2, Folder 8
Photographs are of Crotti, his family, friends, and colleagues including Bertrande Blancpain, Georges Braque examining a gemmail art work, Suzanne Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, Mary Reynolds, composer Edgard Var?¨se, and Jacques Villon. There are also photographs of art work by Crotti and by Suzanne Duchamp.
This bulk of this series has been scanned. Photographs of works of art have not been scanned.
Photographs of Jean Crotti
Photographs of Jean Crotti
Photographs of Jean Crotti
Photographs of Jean Crotti
Photographs of Suzanne Duchamp
Photographs of Jean Crotti with Friends and Colleagues
Photographs of Jean Crotti on
Photographs of Jean Crotti with Georges Braque, Examining a Gemmail Art Work
Photographs of Jean Crotti and Suzanne Duchamp with Pablo Picasso and Bertrande Blancpain
Photographs of Jean Crotti with Pablo Picasso at Palais du Festival in Cannes
Photographs of an Unidentified Exhibition Installation
Photographs of Salon des Independants Exhibition Installation
Sound recordings include two phonograph records of interviews with Jean Crotti, including topics "Assignment Switzerland" and "Assignment World." A third phonograph record is an instantaneous recording of correspondence between Mr. and Mrs. Paul Blancpain and Crotti.
These recordings have been digitized for research access.