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 14 of 15-part series on the works of André Masson:
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| Nude Woman etching and aquatint on paper 24 x 34 cm |
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| Orpheus colour lithograph on paper 51 x 49 cm |
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| On the Theme of Desire ink on paper ink on paper 30 x 26 cm |
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| Pursuit pastel on tinted paper 65 x 50.3 cm |
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| Project for a Carpet coloured crayon on paper 63.2 x 50 cm |
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| Profile ink paper 60 x 45.5 cm |
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| Printmaking and Surrealism colour lithograph poster 77 x 51 cm |
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| Portrait mixed media on paper 32 x 24 cm |
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| Pollen and Chrysalides gouache on paper mounted on canvas 31.2 x 38.2 cm |
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| Pink Profile colour lithograph on paper 86.3 x 66 cm |
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| Love - Peace colour lithograph on aper 53 x 42.5 cm |
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| Rodeo aquatint etching on wove paper 32 x 50.5 cm (sheet) |
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| Rocks and Forest pastel on paper 62.7 x 48 cm |
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| Sirens colour lithograph on Arches filigree paper 22.4 x 29.9 cm |
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| Siren pastel on cardboard 32.5 x 22.5 cm |
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| Shot Bird oil on canvas 68 x 61.7 cm |
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| Shadows etching on Vellum 39.5 x 30 cm (sheet) |
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| Self-Portrait charcoal and brush and India ink on paper 62.8 x 47.9 cm |
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| Seated Figure colour lithograph on paper 28.8 x 21.5 cm |
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| Samson and Delilah colour etching on laid paper c54.5 x 40 cm |
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| Syncope ink on paper 36 x 28 cm |
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| Surrealist Woman colour lithograph on paper 65 x 50 cm |
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| Sunrise over a Torrent oil on canvas 75.6 x 90 cm |
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| Sunflower Dance colour lithograph on paper 74 x 54 cm |
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| Styx oil on canvas 54.8 x 37.7 cm |
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| Study for "The Omens" pastel and charcoal on paper 48 x 62.8 cm |
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| The Earth Toad India ink and pencil on paper 50 35.5 cm |
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| The Daisy coloured pencils and felt-tip pen on paper 61 x 46 cm |
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| The Cards oil on canvas 38 x 61 cm |
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| The Bronte Sisters lithograph on paper c18 x 20 cm |
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| The Bird pastels on paper laid on canvas 46 x 63 cm |
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| The Bathers pastel and gouache on paper 85 x 112 cm |
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| The Market and the Caryatids oil on canvas 81.2 x 100 cm |
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| The Leap (Annals of Nature) oil, tempera and sand on canvas 113.7 x 146.1 cm |
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| The Fugitive colour lithograph on paper 69 x 55 cm |
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| The Europhages I etching and aquatint on paper 33 x 26 cm (plate) |
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| The Earth Toad India ink and pencil on paper 50 35.5 cm |
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| Three Faces lithograph on paper 35.5 x 25.4 cm |
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| The Waves oil on canvas 73.5 x 60 cm |
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| The Torso oil on canvas board 41.9 x 31.1 cm |
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| The Torrent colour lithograph 35.5 x 53.3 cm |
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| The Sonnets of Louise Labé colour lithograph on paper 65 x 50 cm |
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| The Metamorphoses of Sleep pastel on paper mounted on canvas 73 x 92.2 cm |
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| The Masks oil on canvas 60.3 x 75.8 cm |
