André-Aimé-René Masson (4 January 1896 – 28 October 1987) was a French artist.

Biography

Masson was born in

Balagny-sur-Thérain Balagny-sur-Thérain (, literally ''Balagny on Thérain'') is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. Balagny-Saint-Épin station has rail connections to Beauvais and Creil. Population See also *Communes of the Oise department ...

, Oise, but when he was eight his father's work took the family first briefly to Lille and then to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. He began his study of art at the age of eleven at the

Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Brussels (french: Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts - École supérieure des Arts de la Ville de Bruxelles (ARBA-ESA), nl, Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten van Brussel), is an art school established in B ...

in Brussels, under the guidance of

Constant Montald Constant Montald ( Ghent, 4 December 1862 – Brussels, 5 March 1944) was a Belgian painter, muralist, sculptor, and teacher. Biography Early years In 1874, while receiving an education in decorative painting at the technical school of Ghent ...

, and later he studied in Paris. He fought for France during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and was seriously injured.McCloskey, Barbara. ''Artists of World War II''. London: Greenwood Press, 2005, , page 34.

Artistic works

His early works display an interest in

cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

. He later became associated with

surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

, and he was one of the most enthusiastic employers of automatic drawing, making a number of automatic works in pen and ink. Masson experimented with altered states of consciousness with artists such as

Antonin Artaud Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artist, essayist, actor and theatre director. He is widely recognized as a major figure of the E ...

Michel Leiris Julien Michel Leiris (; 20 April 1901 in Paris – 30 September 1990 in Saint-Hilaire, Essonne) was a French surrealist writer and ethnographer. Part of the Surrealist group in Paris, Leiris became a key member of the College of Sociology with ...

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , , ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...

Georges Bataille Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (; ; 10 September 1897 – 9 July 1962) was a French philosopher and intellectual working in philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history of art. His writing, which included essays, novels ...

Jean Dubuffet Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French painter and sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a ...

and Georges Malkine, who were neighbors of his studio in Paris. From around 1926 he experimented by throwing sand and glue onto canvas and making oil paintings based around the shapes that formed. By the end of the 1920s, however, he was finding automatic drawing rather restricting, and he left the surrealist movement and turned instead to a more structured style, often producing works with a violent or erotic theme. He was living in

Tossa de Mar Tossa de Mar () is a municipality in Catalonia, Spain, located on the coastal Costa Brava, about 103 kilometres north of Barcelona and 100 kilometres south of the French border. It is accessible through Girona Airport, some distance north. The G ...

, a small fishing village on the Costa Brava, at the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

, which is reflected in a number of his paintings (he associated once more with the surrealists at the end of the 1930s). Under the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

occupation of France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, his work was condemned by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

as degenerate. With the assistance of

Varian Fry Varian Mackey Fry (October 15, 1907 – September 13, 1967) was an American journalist. Fry ran a rescue network in Vichy France that helped approximately 2,000 to 4,000 anti-Nazi and Jewish refugees to escape Nazi Germany and the Holocaust ...

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

, Masson escaped the Nazi regime on a ship to the French island of

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label= Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

from where he went on to the United States. Upon arrival in New York City customs officials inspecting Masson's luggage found a cache of his erotic drawings. Living in New Preston, Connecticut his work became an important influence on American

abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of th ...

s, such as

Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionism, abstract expressionist movement. He was widely noticed for his "Drip painting, drip technique" of pouring or splas ...

. Following the war, he returned to France and settled in

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille ...

where he painted a number of

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

s. Masson drew the cover of the first issue of

's review, ''

Acéphale ''Acéphale'' is the name of a public review created by Georges Bataille (which numbered five issues, from 1936 to 1939) and a secret society formed by Bataille and others who had sworn to keep silent. Its name is derived from the Greek ἀκέ� ...

'', in 1936, and participated in all its issues until 1939. His brother-in-law, the psychoanalyst

Jacques Lacan Jacques Marie Émile Lacan (, , ; 13 April 1901 – 9 September 1981) was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist. Described as "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud", Lacan gave yearly seminars in Paris from 1953 to 1981, and ...

, was the last private owner of

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and ...

's provocative painting ''

L'Origine du monde ("The Origin of the World") is a picture painted in oil on canvas by the French artist Gustave Courbet in 1866. It is a close-up view of the vulva and abdomen of a naked woman, lying on a bed with legs spread. History Identity of the model Ar ...

'' (''The Origin of the World''); Lacan asked Masson to paint a

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

variant.

Family

His son, Diego Masson (born 1935), is a conductor, composer, and percussionist, while another son, Luis Masson, is an actor. His daughter, Lily Masson (born 1920), is a painter.

Bibliography

* Hélène Parant, Fabrice Flahutez, and Camille Morando. ''La bibliothèque d'André Masson. Une archéologie''. Paris
Artvenir
2011. . * ''André Masson. Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint, 1919–1941''. Vaumarcus: Éditions ArtAcatos, 2010. Catalog by Guite Masson, Martin Masson, and Catherine Loewer, preface by

Bernard Noël Bernard Noël (19 November 1930 – 13 April 2021) was a French writer and poet. He received the ''Grand Prix national de la poésie'' (National Grand Prize of Poetry) in 1992 and the ''Prix Robert Ganzo'' (Robert Ganzo Prize) in 2010. Biography ...

, "André Masson" de

Dawn Adès Josephine Dawn Adès, (''née'' Tylden-Pattenson; born 6 May 1943), also known as Dawn Adès, is a British art historian and academic. She is professor emeritus of art history and theory at the University of Essex. Early life and education A ...

, ''Biographie d'André Masson (1896–1941)'' by Camille Morando. * ''André Masson''. Published on the initiative of

Robert Desnos Robert Desnos (; 4 July 1900 – 8 June 1945) was a French poet who played a key role in the Surrealist movement of his day. Biography Robert Desnos was born in Paris on 4 July 1900, the son of a licensed dealer in game and poultry at the '' ...

and Armand Salacrou in 1940 (limited edition by an anonymous publisher). Each copy initialed by André Masson. Text by

Jean-Louis Barrault Jean-Louis Bernard Barrault (; 8 September 1910 – 22 January 1994) was a French actor, director and mime artist who worked on both screen and stage. Biography Barrault was born in Le Vésinet in France in 1910. His father was 'a Burgund ...

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first '' Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...

Paul Éluard Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his maternal ...

, Armel Guerne, Pierre Jean Jouve, Madeleine Landsberg,

Georges Limbour Georges Limbour (Courbevoie, 11 August 1900 — Chiclana de la Frontera, near Cadiz, 17 May 1970)Colin-Pichon, M., Georges Limbour: le songe autobiographique, Lachenal & Ritter, Paris, 1994, pp. 209–219 was a French writer, poet and art critic, ...

Benjamin Péret Benjamin Péret (4 July 1899 – 18 September 1959) was a French poet, Parisian Dadaist and a founder and central member of the French Surrealist movement with his avid use of Surrealist automatism. Biography Benjamin Péret was born in Rezé, ...

. Reprinted 1993 by Éditions André Dimanche, in Marseille. * Dawn Ades. ''André Masson''. Collection Les grands maîtres de l’art contemporain. Paris: Éditions Albin Michel, 1994. (Translated from the English by Jacques Tranier). *

. ''Le Surréalisme et la Peinture''. Paris: Éditions Gallimard, 1965. * Jean-Claude Clébert, ''Mythologie d'André Masson''. Genève: Éditions Pierre Cailler, 1971. * Daniel Guérin. ''Eux et Lui. suivi de commentaires, ornés de cinq dessins originaux d’André Masson''. Lille: 2000. * Armel Guerne. ''André Masson ou les autres valeurs''. 2007. *

Hubert Juin Hubert Juin, pseudonym for Hubert Loescher, (5 June 1926 – 3 June 1987) was a Francophone Belgian poet, novelist, essayist and literary critic. Works (selection) Novels *1978: ''Les Hameaux'' Verviers, Marabout, (with a preface by André Dh ...

. ''André Masson''. Paris: Le musée de poche, 1963. * Jean-Clarence Lambert. ''André Masson''. Paris: Éditions Filipacchi, 1979. * Françoise Levaillant. ''Massacre de signes''. Tokyo: Misuzu Shobo, 1995. *

''André Masson et son univers''. Lausanne: Les Trois collines, 1947. *

''André Masson, dessins''. Collection "Plastique". Paris: Éditions Braun, 1951. * André Masson. ''Entretiens avec Georges Charbonnier'', préface de Georges Limbour. Paris: Julliard, 1958. Reprinted 1995 by éditions André Dimanche, Marseille. * André Masson. ''La Mémoire du monde''. Geneva: Skira, 1974 (conversations with Gaétan Picon). * André Masson. ''Le Vagabond du surréalisme''. (conversations with Gilbert Brownstone). Paris: Éditions Saint-Germain-des-Près, 1975. * André Masson. ''Le Rebelle du Surréalisme''. Paris: Éditions Hermann, 1976. (Anthologie établie par Françoise Levaillant). Reprinted 1994. * André Masson. ''Les Années surréalistes. Correspondance 1916–1942''. Lyon: La Manufacture, 1990. (édition établie et présentée par Françoise Levaillant, d’après le Doctorat de F. Levaillant, "André Masson: Lettres choisies 1922–1942". Université de Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne, 1986). * André Masson. "Dissonances". In ''An Anthology from X''. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. "X magazine", Vol. I, No. III (June 1960) * Florence de Mèredieu. ''André Masson, les dessins automatiques''. Blusson, 1988. * Stephan Moebius. ''Die Zauberlehrlinge. Soziologiegeschichte des Collège de Sociologie''. Constance: , 2006. *

. ''André Masson, la chair du regard''. Collection l'art et l'écrivain. Paris: Gallimard, 1993. * René Passeron. ''André Masson et les puissances de signe''. Denoël 1975. * José Pierre," ''L’Aventure Surréaliste autour d’André Breton'' ", Paris, éd. Filipacchi, 1986. * Clark V. Poling. ''André Masson and the Surrealist Self''. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2008. *

Michel Surya Michel Surya (born 1954) is a French writer, philosopher and publisher. A specialist of Georges Bataille, he is the founder and director of the journal ' and the . Publications Tales *1988: ''Exit'', preface by Bernard Noël, Séguier, reprin ...

. ''

, la mort à l'œuvre''. Paris: Gallimard, 1992. * Françoise Will-Levaillant. ''André Masson, période asiatique 1950–1959''. Paris: Galerie de Seine, 1972. *Buchholz, Kai, and Klaus Wolbert (eds.). ''André Masson. Bilder aus dem Labyrinth der Seele.'' Frankfurt a. M.: 2003. *Kaiser-Strohmann, Dagmar. ''Vom Aufruhr zur Struktur. Schriftwerte im Informel'', exhibition catalogue, : Gustav-Luebcke-Museum Hamm 2008. . *Mueller-Yao, Marguerite Hui. ''Der Einfluss der Kunst der chinesischen Kalligraphie auf die westliche informelle Malerei''. PhD diss. Bonn, Koeln 1985. . *Mueller-Yao, Marguerite. "Informelle Malerei und chinesische Kalligrafie". In ''Informel, Begegnung und Wandel'', edited by Heinz Althoefer, . Schriftenreihe des Museums am Ostwall 2. Dortmund: , 2002. . *Rolf Wedewer. ''Die Malerei des Informel. Weltverlust und Ich-Behauptung''. Munich:

Deutscher Kunstverlag The Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV) is an educational publishing house with offices in Berlin and Munich. The publisher specializes in books about art, cultural history, architecture, and historic preservation. History Deutscher Kunstverlag w ...

, 2007. . * Carmine Benincasa. ''André Masson – L’universo della pittura'' Milan: Editore Mondatori, 1989.

References

External links

Masson
at the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

.
Short biography.Müller-Yao, Marguerite: Informelle Malerei und chinesische Kalligrafie, Dortmund 2002
* * Interview with André Masson on ''Acéphale'' i
Black Sun Lit
(October 2016) {{DEFAULTSORT:Masson, Andre 1896 births 1987 deaths People from Oise 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters Modern painters French surrealist artists artists from Aix-en-Provence People from New Preston, Connecticut