French psychiatrist, writer, painter and publisher, born in 1892 in Nancy, died in Paris (in 1952 or 1953 depending on the source).
Life
Émile Malespine studied botany, medicine, physiology and psychology. A doctor during the First World War, he then opened a practice in Lyon while completing a doctorate in psychiatry.
His travels to Switzerland and Paris brought him into contact with Jean Arp, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, André Breton and Tristan Tzara. From 1922 to 1928 he edited in Lyon the review Manomètre, inspired by Zenit and Der Sturm, which placed him at the heart of exchanges between the European avant-gardes. He also founded the Théâtre expérimental du Donjon.
A man of many activities, he was at once a doctor, poet, theorist, art critic, painter, a man of the theatre, cinema and radio, and a furniture designer. From 1924 he made avant-garde short films, Jeux d’ombre and Jeux arborescents.