Printer: Mourlot

Dimensions: 78 x 57 cm

Condition: Very good 

Frame: Silver

Description: André Masson’s career was shaped by extraordinary events. Seriously wounded during the First World War, he spent the decades that followed searching for a new visual language and became one of the founders of Surrealism. His work was driven less by careful planning than by instinct, allowing unexpected forms and ideas to emerge on the page.

By 1973, when Galerie Louise Leiris presented this exhibition, Masson was recognised as one of the great figures of the original Surrealist movement. The gallery had long been associated with artists such as Picasso, Braque and Miró, making it an appropriate setting for an artist whose work had challenged artistic convention for half a century.

The image reproduced on this poster is unmistakably Masson. Human figures, animals, and fragments of landscape appear and disappear across the surface, inviting the viewer to find their own meaning. Even late in his career, Masson remained as curious and inventive as ever, qualities that continue to make his work feel remarkably fresh today.

Artist: André Masson (1896-1987) was a French painter, sculptor, illustrator, designer and writer. He studied at the Brussels Académie des Beaux-Arts at the very young age of eleven before moving to Paris to attend the École des Beaux-Art 1912-1914. He was initially inspired by Paul Cézanne before developing an interest in cubism from Juan Gris, and later surrealism. Masson was seriously injured in the First World War and spent months in military hospitals and a psychiatric facility. Much of his work was underpinned by trauma. Themes revolved around nature, metamorphosis, mythology, violence, eroticism, love and death. His ‘automatic drawings’, which he channelled through his subconscious, had a great influence on Jackson Pollock. From 1923, Masson was a regular exhibitor at the Galerie Simon in Paris (later called Galerie Louise Leiris).