Fernand Crommelynck (19 November 1886 – 17 March 1970) was a Belgian

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

. His work is known for farces in which commonplace weaknesses are developed into monumental obsessions.

Biography

He was born into a family of actors, the child of a French mother and a Belgian father, and he himself was also an

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. His sons Aldo Crommelynck (1931–2009), Piero (1934–2001), and Milan were renowned master printmakers, who worked with

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

and many other major artists of the twentieth century. In his earliest works Crommelynck already demonstrated the grasp of style and content that in his maturity culminated in works of great poetic force. The dramatic structure in ''Nous n'irons plus au bois'' (1906), ''Le sculpteur de masques'' (1908) and ''Le marchand de regrets'' (1913), was already based on the logical development of an absurd premise. French composer Cecile Paul Simon set ''Le marchand de regrets'' to music. Crommelynck's masterpiece was '' Le Cocu magnifique'' (1920), a 'lyrical farce' on the theme of a lover's jealousy. Staged with constructivist sets by Vsevolod Meyerhold – the first of their kind – the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

play was such a hit that Crommelynck was able to give up acting and devote himself to writing. In ''Tripes d'or'' (1926) he satirized the passion for money and the spurious prestige it confers, while in ''Carine, ou la jeune fille folle de son âme'' (1929) he contrasted love and sensuality in the story of a chaste young girl who is faithful to her ideals of love to the bitter end. Both in language and dramatic technique, Crommelynck has been one of the most lyrical and original writers of the 20th century theatre.

Select works

Crommelynck - Le Sculpteur de Masques 001

*''Le Sculpteur de masques'' (1908) *''L'Histoire de Minna Claessens'' (Alfred Machin, 1912) *''L'agent Rigolo et son chien policier'' (Alfred Machin, 1912) *''Le Marchand de regrets'' (1913) *''Maudite soit la guerre'' (Alfred Machin, 1914) *''Le Cocu magnifique'' (drama)' (1921) *''Les Amants puérils'' (1921) *''Tripes d'or'' (1930) *''Le Cadavre n° 5'' (Gaston Schoukens, 1932) *''Une Femme qu'a le cœur trop petit'' (1934) *''Chaud et froid'' (1936)

Selected filmography

* '' The Judge'' (1921) * '' Miarka'' (1937) * '' The Novel of Werther'' (1938) * '' The City of Lights'' (1938) * '' I Am with You'' (1943)

References

External links

Fernand Crommelynck Bio-and Bibliography
*
Fernand Crommelynck in Britannica Online Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crommelynck, Fernand 1886 births 1970 deaths 20th-century Belgian dramatists and playwrights Belgian male dramatists and playwrights