La revue XXe Siècle de Gualtieri di San Lazzaro : du « papier collé » au « relief » (1956-1961)

The present article is an exploration of the role of collage in the XXe Siècle revue. It is an important theme to analyze given the critical positions and editorial strategy of the revue’s founder and director, the Italian writer living in Paris Gualtieri di San Lazzaro (1904-1974). In particular, San Lazzaro edited a monographic edition of XX e Siècle in 1956 about “Le papier collé du cubisme à nos jours”. This issue sought to delineate the technical and stylistic evolution of the “collage” in the 20 th century, from Cubism and Futurism to the abstract “papier collé”. Meanwhile, in the debate about the primacy of the “object” or “matter,” San Lazzaro’s preference was for the surfaces effect, in favor of abstract and informal use of collage. Between the opposing positions of Cimaise and Art d’aujourd’hui , San Lazzaro’s review situated itself in the panorama of French art as a defender of “peinture de tradition française” and a pioneer for a new technique : the relief.