André Masson"Caliban, " Original Color Lithograph by Surrealist Andre Masson1965
1965
About the Item
- Creator:André Masson (1896-1987, French)
- Creation Year:1965
- Dimensions:Height: 20.5 in (52.07 cm)Width: 18 in (45.72 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Milwaukee, WI
- Reference Number:
André Masson
Born in 1896 in Balagny-sur- Thérain, a small village in France, André Masson spent most of his youth in Brussels, Belgium working as a pattern maker at an embroidery atelier. Masson began his schooling in 1907 at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. In 1912, he relocated to Paris, where he attended the École des Beaux-Arts. In 1914, the artist was called to military duty for the First World War, where he was severely wounded and sent back to Paris. Much of Masson’s work is influenced by this trauma; his drawings and paintings executed during the 1920s represent battle scenes, blood, death, birds and fish. The strange realities of trench warfare and the immediate contiguity of life and death are drawn upon, and his imagery suggests a confrontation of life at an abnormal level of experience. His signature style deals with violence, evident in terrifying, fragmented figures, which reflect the horrors of the Spanish Civil War and WWII, as well as his troubled psyche in the aftermath of his service in WWI.
After WWI, Masson moved to the South of France, where he met Juan Gris, André Derain, Joan Miró and André Breton. Breton championed the Surrealist Manifesto and Masson joined in the group exhibition of the first Surrealists. An iconoclast, whose abrupt stylistic transitions defy classification, Masson also explored automatism (automatic drawing), a process that sought to express the creative force of the unconscious. These automatic drawings had no preconceived subject or composition. Like a medium channeling a spirit, Masson let his pen travel rapidly across the paper without conscious control. He soon found hints of images, fragmented bodies and objects, emerging from the abstract, lacelike web of pen marks. At times, Masson elaborated on these with conscious changes or additions, but he left the traces of the rapidly drawn ink mostly intact. Masson’s oeuvre explores several techniques of painting, drawing and sculpture and displays rich, colorful abstraction as well as monochrome imagery and automatic linear representations. An early Surrealist and student of Cubism, Masson went on to inspire the New York Abstract Expressionists. Masson developed a technique of automatic painting that retained the element of chance; he dripped glue onto paper to form drawings and then covered it with sand. These ‘sand paintings’ are unquestionably his most iconic style.
When Masson emigrated to the U.S. in 1939, he strongly influenced several American painters with this technique, the most evident example being Jackson Pollack. After his time in America, he returned to Europe and while living in Spain during the mid-1930s, he became enraptured with Spanish themes—bullfights, matadors and Spanish mythology. Masson finally settled down in France (Aix-en-Provence), where he took up a late interest in impressionistic landscape, but he ultimately came to a place where he painted nearly exclusively abstract images. Masson dedicated his life as an artist to encouraging the non-rational purpose in art, to the direct transference of subconscious thought and to the primal forces of conflicts that he experienced in the trenches of World War One. Masson sought to convey in his work a deeper reality of man’s behavior, his own complex personal imagery, and his belief that painting is not a matter of developing style but a part of life itself.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Milwaukee, WI
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- "Bacchanale from Je Reve (I Dream) Portfolio, " Original Color LithographBy André MassonLocated in Milwaukee, WI"Bacchanale" is an original color lithograph by Andre Masson. This piece is from the Je Reve (I Dream) portfolio and is edition number H.C. XVV/XVV. Masson signed the piece in pencil...Category
1970s Surrealist Figurative Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- "Terres de Grande Feu, Miró-Artigas, " an Original Color Poster by Joan MiróBy Joan MiróLocated in Milwaukee, WI"Terres de Grande Feu" is an original color lithograph poster by Joan Miró for Galerie Maeght Paris. Poster produced for the exhibition of 43 ceramic pieces,...Category
1950s Surrealist Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- "Galerie Maeght Miro Maqght Editeur Imprimeur" an Original Litho by Joan MiroBy Joan MiróLocated in Milwaukee, WI"Galerie Maeght Miro" is an original color lithograph poster with art by Joan Miro. It was printed by Maeght Editeur Imprimeur in 1970. The poster showcase...Category
1970s Surrealist Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- "Sculptural Objects, " Original Color Lithograph signed by Henry MooreBy Henry MooreLocated in Milwaukee, WI"Sculptural Objects" is an original color lithograph by Henry Moore. The artist signed the piece lower right. This is from an edition of 3,000. It features abstract, biomorphic figur...Category
1940s Surrealist Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- "East River Dance" original lithograph signed pop art ocean clown fish cityscapeBy Michael KniginLocated in Milwaukee, WI"East River Dance" is an original color lithograph by Michael Knigin. The artist signed the piece in the lower right and wrote the edition number, 77/275, in the lower left corner wi...Category
1970s Surrealist Animal Prints
MaterialsLithograph, Ink
- "Untitled, for "XXe Siècle (20th C.)" Magazine #21 Original Color LithographBy Wifredo LamLocated in Milwaukee, WIUntitled, for "XXe Siècle (20th C.)" magazine is an original color lithograph by Latin American artist Wifredo Lam. It depicts a variety of surreal and abstract lines and figures in ...Category
1950s Surrealist Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Wunderhorn - Lithograph by Max Ernst - 1970sBy Max ErnstLocated in Roma, ITWunderhorn is an artwork realized by Max Ernst, Lewis Carrolls,1970. Lithograph on Japon Paper, signed and numbered 68/69. Printed and published by Manues Press (Embossing Stamp)....Category
1970s Surrealist Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Après Moi le XXème Siècle - Lithograph by Max Ernst - 1971By Max ErnstLocated in Roma, ITAprès moi is an artwork reazlized by Max Ernst as deluxe edition for the Art Magazine XXème Siècle. Lithograph on japanese paper, 1971. Edition 14/80. Hand signed and numbered. 29 x...Category
1970s Surrealist Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Wunderhorn - Lithograph by Max Ernst - 1970sBy Max ErnstLocated in Roma, ITWunderhorn is an artwork realized by Max Ernst, Lewis Carrolls,1970. Lithograph on Japon Paper, igned and numbered 68/69. Printed and published by Manues Press (Embossing Stamp). ...Category
1970s Surrealist Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Colour Lithograph 'La Triple Roue ll' 1981By Joan MiróLocated in Toronto, CA'La Triple Roue ll' Limited edition colour lithograph on Arches paper from Joan Míro's final series of fifteen lithographs, 'Allegro Vivace' 1981. The series is known for its bold fo...Category
Late 20th Century Surrealist Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Composition - Lithograph by Jean-Pierre Jouffroy - 1963Located in Roma, ITComposition is an Original Lithograph realized by Jean-Pierre Jouffroy in 1963. Good condition on a yellowed paper. Signed, titled and dated by the a...Category
1930s Surrealist Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Original poster - Vintage Offset Poster by R.S. MattaBy Sebastian MattaLocated in Roma, ITOriginal poster, colored lithograph on paper. Signed on plate on lower margin at the center. Good condition, except for some foxing and stains on the left margin. Roberto Sebastián...Category
20th Century Surrealist Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph