Pierre Klossowski, Drawings

Pierre Klossowski (1905-2001) was a French writer, philosopher, translator, and artist. He and his brother, the painter Balthus (whose work is well worth seeing too; I'll put some up at another time), were born and bred into sophisticated culture; their friends and family read like a who's-who of French intellectuals.

He was a bit of a cult figure with sophisticated, intellectual and controversial pieces – I say "pieces" because he was not especially focused on one single discipline. An admirer of both de Sade and patristic writings, he was said to have "one foot in the seminary, and another - in a brothel."

He started drawing as a means to illustrate his writings. The drawings were life-size, emphasizing their surrealist impact. Klossowski also created equally-impressive oversize sculptures in the same style of his drawings.

Roberte et Gulliver, 1971. Private Collection, courtesy Galerie Lelong, Zurich

Roberte et les Barres Parallèles Nº 8, 1984

La Poursuite dans l’Escalier, 1975. Courtesy Natalie Seroussi

Roberte et les Collégiens V (vision du Professeur Octave), 1974. Collection André Goeminne, Nazareth