Les Feuillets d'art - Recueil de littérature et d'art contemporain

Although short-lived, the magazine Les Feuillets d’Art was an innovative concept in the publishing world of the early 1920s. This rare-quality publicationlaunched by Michel Dufet, interpreted the major literary and artistic trends of the moment and published the works of renowned artists.

Dufet created this luxury magazine in 1919, along with Edmond Moussié (1888-1933), patron and director of the Bordeaux Bassens port authority. Publication stopped after a year, then it was relaunched in 1921 by Lucien Vogel (1886-1954), founder of the Gazette du Bon Ton. Michel Dufet remained co-editor. It was discontinued in 1922, no doubt due to cost. 
In a publishing landscape where specialist magazines were in abundance, Les Feuillets d’Art covered a wide range of disciplines. Michel Dufet saw the publication as “a work of selection, a labour of fine-tuning’ that embraced “various forms of artistic and literary activity”.  It included reviews and essays, as well as (sometimes previously unpublished) musical scores, short stories, plays, poems, illustrations, etc.
An ambitious editor, Dufet asked prestigious writers, artists and musicians to provide content. Anatole France, Anna de Noailles, Henri de Régnier, Marcel Proust, Paul Claudel, Jean Giraudoux, André Suarès contributed to the magazine. With their illustrations, Pierre Bonnard, Raoul Dufy, Foujita and Kees Van Dongen all had a hand in the magazine's beautiful graphics.

This collection of Les Feuillets d’Art comprises two series, each of six editions, published at irregular intervals from May 1919 to July 1920 then in September 1921 and October 1922. 
The large-format volumes from the first series feature refined red and black graphics and a folio wallet design, with flaps, metal eyelets and string closure. They are divided into chapters (or feuillets) on the topics of literature, art and design, theatre, music and fashion, all illustrated with woodcut prints and black or colour inset plates. 
There is a clear difference in the composition of the second series, enabling subscriptions to be sold at virtually half the price. Thinner and smaller, making them easier to handle, the colour of the illustrated cover – a woman's profile against a background of foliage – changed with each issue. They were no longer divided into chapters and were renamed the Feuillets d’Art - Recueil de Littérature et d'Art Contemporain.

Michel Dufet developed the magazine's content, producing articles and drawings. Many feature his personal interests: furniture, books and sculpture. 
On his initiative, the first edition of Feuillets d’Art on 31 May 1919 includes an article on L’Art de Bourdelle. Written by Pierre Mille, it is lavishly illustrated with photographs of sculptures and an inset of Rodin at Work. Following this publication, Michel Dufet and Antoine Bourdelle forged a lasting friendship. 

Claire Boisserolles