Eugène Ionesco (1909-1994), Playwright

Sitter in 7 portraits
Rumanian-born playwright and essayist who lived in Paris. His first play The Bald Soprano (1949) revolutionised dramatic techniques and helped launch the Theatre of the Absurd. Ionesco's avant-garde style dramatised the futility of social conventions and attacked totalitarianism and conformity. His plays include The Lesson (1951), The Chairs (1952), The Bald Soprano (1953) and Rhinoceros (1959).