Paul Dermée

A group of Dada artists in 1920. Paul is seen in the middle row on the left wearing the jacket of the lightest shade. His wife, Céline Arnauld, is seated directly beneath Dermee, on the front row, second from the left.

Paul Dermée (1886–1951) was a Belgian writer, poet, literary critic. Born Camille Janssen in Liège, Belgium in 1886, he died in Paris in 1951.

He knew the painters Picasso, Juan Gris, Sonia and Robert Delaunay and the poets Valéry Larbaud and Max Jacob.

His wife, Céline Arnauld, was also an active poet and participant in the Paris Dada movement.

Discovered by the writer Tristan Tzara, he took the risk (in times of war) to diffuse the "Dada" review in the province of Zurich. In exchange he received the title "Proconsul Dada".

He was director of the magazine L'Esprit Nouveau.