Pierre Klossowski

Balthus was Klossowski’s brother. Both Rilke (his mother’s lover) and Gide were mentors during his youth; he supplied Gide with erotic stories and became his amanuensis. Bataille, met in 1935, was a close friend and lifetime colleague; Klossowski became a member of his secret society, Acéphale, and of his Collège de Sociologie (along with Caillois and Leiris). Masson and Breton (whose anti-fascist group Contre-Attaque Klossowski joined) were also met through Bataille. Klossowski wrote a study of the nude and eroticism with Blanchot, and translated his friend Benjamin’s most influential essay into French.