Charlotte Salomon - talent killed in the gas chamber

MOSCOW. A book about the artist Charlotte Salomon, who died in Auschwitz, was published at the ABC-Atticus Publishing House.

Charlotte is one of the latest books by David Foenkinos, for which he received the prestigious Goncourt Lyceum Prize (Prix Goncourt des lycéens) and the lesser-known Prix Renaudot in Russia. Several hundred miraculously preserved works - that’s all that the talented artist Charlotte Salomon managed to leave to this world. The child, who was supposed to be born a few months later, died with her in the gas chamber of Auschwitz. Therefore, the request to preserve the drawings in which her whole life is addressed, addressed to Dr. Georges Moridis, does not seem an exaggeration. A series of drawings united by the name “Life? or Theater? ”(Leben? oder Theater?), is the diary of her life, bright and sad. The artistic value of her works, related to the genre of expressionism and in their manner far ahead of their time, is undeniable. The idea of the book about Charlotte Fonkinos hatched for about 10 years. Its embodiment was preceded by lengthy research, "excavation" in the archives. The emotional involvement in the tragic circumstances of the heroine’s life was very strong and, according to the writer, devastated him. So great was his desire to tell the current generation about an incredibly talented artist who fell into the meat grinder of the war. A passionate desire to write books, an interest in painting and music came to Fonkinos spontaneously during the period of rehabilitation after a heart operation. After the release of the debut novel “Inside Out” (Inversion de l’idiotie: de l’influence de deux Polonais), the writer, musician and film director Fonkinos not only woke up famous, but also very quickly ascended to the literary Olympus of the Fifth Republic. The undoubted film success is the film adaptation of La Délicatesse with Audrey Tautou in the title role. An introvert who adores Dostoevsky, Gogol and Kunder is one of the few French writers who receive worthy dividends from their favorite occupation.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru