André Masson (1896-1987) - Profil

André MASSON (1896-1987)

Original engraving, color aquatint

Original engraving
Print run noté 15/50

Paper dimensions: 46 x 33 cm
Image dimensions: 28 x 21 cm
Signed and numbered in pencil in the margin

In good condition. A few small foxmarks in the margins.

Original work delivered with invoice and certificate of authenticity.
Fast, careful, and insured shipping.
Buy with complete confidence!

André MASSON (1896-1987)

Seriously wounded at the Chemin des Dames in 1917, André Masson retained a heightened sensitivity throughout his life. The massacres, the blood, death, extreme violence, and the crude reality of bodies would be constants in his work.
Born in 1896, he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles (1908-1912). Coming to Paris (1922), he struggled to survive, meeting Max Jacob, Miro. He joined the Surrealists in 1923, became close to Artaud, Michel Leiris, and André Breton. In 1929, he broke with Breton and drew closer to Georges Bataille, illustrating in the journals «Acéphale» and «La révolution surréaliste». He left for Spain where he lived from 1934 to 1937, engaging in the civil war against Francoism.
He contributed to the journal «Minotaure» from 1937. Masson went into exile in the United States during World War II. There, he would permanently influence Jackson Pollock, with whom he formed a bond.
His first exhibition was organized in 1928, marking the beginning of a long series of shows that would lead his work to hang on the walls of museums around the world. After his death (1987), important retrospectives were organized (Albi, Aix-en-Provence, Paris, Kunstmuseum Bern, etc.).
Masson began his work with a painting deemed traditional; he would later be influenced by Fauvism and Cézanne. Then came symbolism, which would firmly establish itself in his art. He created automatic drawings, surrealist canvases, and produced a very large group of works on paper (printmaking, lithography, drawing), approached sculpture, and illustrated poets.