André Masson (1896-1987) french painter, sculptor, illustrator, designer and writer, was born at Balagny (Oise). He spent most of his youth in Brussels, where he worked as a pattern-drawer in an embroidery studio and studied part-time at the Académie des Beaux-Arts. Then moved to Paris and studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts 1912-14. He served in the French Army 1914-19, and was gravely wounded. He lived in the South of France (1919-22), then returned to Paris where he met Gris, Derain, and later Miró and Breton. His first one-man exhibition was at the Galerie Simon, Paris in 1923. Paintings of forests, card players and still lifes, followed by experiments with automatic drawing. From 1924-9 he participated in the Surrealist movement. He made further works exploring chance effects, including sand paintings, as well as paintings of metamorphoses of animal and human forms, themes of germination, combats and massacres, with emphasis on violence and eroticism. He lived in Spain 1934-36 where he made paintings of bullfights, Spanish myths, etc. He took refuge in the USA between 1941-45, where he lived at New Preston, Connecticut, and made works inspired by the elemental forces of nature. He returned to France in 1945 and settled in Aix-en-Provence in 1947. Here he painted landscape themes such as mountains and waterfalls for several years, followed by some almost completely abstract pieces. His works also include sets and costumes for the theatre, book illustrations and a number of small sculptures.
This is part 12 of 15-part series on the works of André Masson:
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| 1975 Venice in Flowers from Je Reve Portfolio lithograph on Arches paper 66 x 50.8 cm |
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| 1975 Venetian Interior colour lithograph on paper 66 x 50.8 cm |
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| 1975 Odalisque colour lithograph 56 x 75.7 cm |
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| c1975 Untitled colour lithograph on paper 45.7 x 34.2 cm |
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| 1975-76 The Sibyl and the Stars colour lithograph on paper 50 x 66 cm |
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| 1976 Morgane among the Lilies etching on paper 48 x 37.7 cm |
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| 1976 Metamorphoses ink on paper 45.7 x 21.5 cm |
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| 1976 Landscape Alle pastel on paper laid on canvas 54 x 73 cm |
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| 1976 After the Flood oil on canvas 91.5 x 110 cm |
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| 1976 Bonjour Max Ernst etching and aquatint in colours on Arches paper published by Éditions Georges Visat, Paris 46 x 30.5 cm |
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| 1976 Wave of the Future colour lithograph 48.3 x 63.5 cm |
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| 1976 Untitled colour lithograph on paper 20 x 25 cm |
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| 1976 The Totem colour etching and aquatint on Arches vellum 43 x 33 cm |
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| 1976 The Dance of the Sun pastel on grey paper 23.7 x 30.9 cm |
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| 1977 Shakespeare Sonnets 1 etching on paper 35.5 x 29.8 cm |
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| c1977 Don Giovanni, Metropolitan Opera colour lithograph poster 91.4 x 60.9 cm |
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| 1977-78 The Odyssey etching and aquatint 66.5 x 51 cm |
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| 1977-78 The Odyssey etching and aquatint 66.5 x 51 cm |
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| c1978 Untitled colour lithograph on Vellum 57 x 76 cm |
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| 1978 Untitled colour lithograph on Vellum 57 x 76 cm |
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| 1978 Cyclops etching and aquatint on paper 49 x 34.5 cm |
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| 1978 Cyclops etching and aquatint on paper 49 x 34.5 cm |
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| c1979 Women and Observer colour lithograph on paper 65 x 50 cm |
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| 1981 Childhood Moon etching and aquatint on wove paper 50 x 38 cm |
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| before 1985 Study of a Female India ink and ink wash on paper 43 x 52 cm |
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| 1985 And the Metamorphosis etching on Japan paper 33 x 22.8 cm |
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| 1987 Force or Cunning? lithograph on paper c 22.3 x 27 cm |
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| Abstraction colour lithograph on paper 71.1 x 53.3 cm |
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| Abstract Male & Female colour lithograph on paper 21 x 30 cm |
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| Abstract Composition with Two Figures (Hommage à Dorothéa Tanning) silksceen print on paper 59.5 x 40 cm |
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| Abstract Composition colour aquatint and embossing on Arches wove paper 42.5 x 52.4 cm |
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| A pair of dancing Figures oil on paper 40.6 x 27.9 cm |
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| A Chalk Star colour lithograph on Japan paper 32.5 x 25 cm |
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| Armides Garden lithograph on vellum 42.7 x 57 cm (plate) |
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| Aquarium colour lithograph on paper 56 x 76 cm (sheet) |
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| Amazon ink and gouache wash on paper 46 x 40 cm |
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| Almuradiel oil on canvas 55.2 x 33.1 cm |
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| After the Deluge oil on canvas 73.3 x 92 cm |
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| Adam and Eve colour lithograph on paper 76.2 x 90.1 cm |
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| Birds shot oil on canvas 68 x 61.7 cm |
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| Bird Form lithograph on paper 47.5 x 62.5 cm |
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| Ballet colour lithograph on paper 49.5 x 64.7 cm |
