Albert Edouard Gilou

Albert Edouard "Bertie" Gilou (-1961) was a French art collector and founding Art Director of the magazine Connaissance des Arts. He was also Art Director of the magazine Realités from 1950 to 1961.

Early life and education

Gilou was a descendant of Charles Sedelmeyer (1837-1925) on his mother's side, and of Louise Gilou on his father's side. His father, Pierre Gilou, alias Gilou (1880-1953), was a tennis player, captaining the French Tennis Federation and winning the Davis Cup five times. Gilou was raised in a highly motivating environment, and he learnt to sharpen his artistic skills. He was also taught music and piano.

In 1939, Gilou graduated from the Paris École des Beaux-Arts with a degree in Architecture. He was awarded two medals in drawing and sculpture modelling.

Career

During World War II, Gilou served as a Naval Officer, and in 1940 joined General de Gaulle and the "France Libre" on a staff mission. In 1942 he enlisted in the FNFL (Flotte Nationale de la France Libre, the French Resistance Navy) where he became Officer Interpreter for the Cipher Services (ORIC).

In 1945, Pierre Lazareff, Chief Editor of the daily France-Soir, decided to foster the creation of a new type of monthly news magazine, Réalités, with its first issue dated February 1946. After collaborating regularly to the magazine as art counsellor and critic, Gilou accepted the position of Art Director of Réalités in 1950.

Gilou considered photography as an art in its own right and hired photographers including Edouard Boubat, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, David Seymour, Werner Bischof, Bruce Davidson, Dennis Stock, Eugene Smith, Robert Doisneau, Brassaï, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, William Klein, Irving Penn, and Richard Alvedon.

In 1950, an English edition was launched, as well as one for the United States, Realities in America.

In 1951, Gilou created a monthly art magazine with the initial name of Connaisseur des Arts. This was changed to Connaissance des Arts in 1952. Francis Spar was its Managing Editor, and Gilou, its Art Director. Under Gilou's supervision, Connaissance des Arts adhered to the essential notion of quality in Art and Architecture, in every civilization, at any time, whether archaïc, classic of modern, sophisticated or naive.

Gilou also conceived and directed Réalités' collection of reference books on art. He always responded favourably to invitations to give conferences or to lead workshops on art. In this line, he started giving lectures and courses at the Institut Supérieur des Beaux-Arts of Besançon (Doubs, France) in 1958.

Gilou was also an enthusiastic art collector. During the last years of his life, his taste—and therefore his collection—became oriented towards spirituality and its manifold expressions in art: Chinese painting and sculpture, Japanese zen portraits, Persian paintings, Christian Bysantine and Mosan art, archaïc Greek sculpture.

In 1960, the French Ministry of Culture encouraged Gilou's project to establish a new inventory of France's religious architecture and art, but Gilou's death in 1961 put an end to the ambitious project.

Personal life

Gilou was married to Miriam Gilou-Cendrars, the daughter and biographer of the writer and poet Blaise Cendrars. They had three children.

References

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