1970
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Artistic works. His early works display an interest in cubism. He later became associated with surrealism, 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, Michel Leiris, Joan ...
Learn about the life and work of André Masson, a pioneer of automatic drawing and a key figure in the Surrealist movement. Explore his artworks in Tate collection, including paintings, sculptures and prints.
- Summary of André Masson
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- Biography of André Masson
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Painting dreamscapes of writhing mythological figures and tortured natural forms, André Masson combined the two main visual techniques of Surrealism: biomorphic abstraction and automatic techniques. One of the first painters to embrace André Breton's Surrealisttheories, Masson channeled the subconscious and explored the themes of sexuality, violenc...
After experiencing the violence and chaos of World War I, Masson incorporated brutal, disembodied images into his paintings with unprecedented graphic force. He combined these savage forms with ide...An admirer of early Renaissanceand early modernism, Masson combined classical themes and emotionally-laden abstract forms. Many of his works draw from classical mythology as archetypes of life, sex...Like many of the Surrealists, he relocated to America during World War II, where his impact on the New York School was more direct. Masson's automatic technique and cosmic narratives were visually...Childhood
André-Aimé-René Masson was born on January 4, 1896 in the small town of Balagny (Oise), north of Paris. He was the eldest of three children in a family of modest means. Growing up in the country, he felt an early connection with nature and the world. Masson's childhood encouraged unconventional thought. In particular, his mother was a French teacher who promoted unusual texts that would later become important to the Surrealistsand were considered scandalous at the time. While his father was m...
Early Training and Work
Through the efforts of his mother and the quality of his drawings, Masson was admitted to the Brussels Académie des Beaux-Arts at age eleven, which was much younger than usual. He studied under the Belgian painter and sculptor Constant Montald, whose method of mixing glue with water and pigment proved very influential for Masson's later technique. He also took a side job making embroidery designs, which meant his days were filled with study and work. In his limited free time, Masson read insa...
Mature Period
In Paris, Masson began making pottery at a studio center for veterans with disabilities. He also took up work with the Journal Officiel. His work from these postwar years featured erotic, sometimes pornographic content that varied widely in style and technique. The founder of the Surrealist movement, André Breton, would later call this Masson's 'erotic period' and believed it to be key to understanding his entire oeuvre. According to the writer Malcolm Haslam, Masson hosted regular gatherings...
Learn about André Masson, one of the first painters to embrace Surrealism and explore the subconscious through biomorphic abstraction and automatic techniques. Discover his paintings that depict dreamscapes of mythological figures, sexuality, violence, and metamorphosis.
- January 4, 1896
- October 28, 1987
- January 4, 1896
- October 28, 1987
- Automatic Drawing Andre Masson 1924.
- Pupae to Toledo Andre Masson 1935.
- Iconic views of Toledo Andre Masson 1936.
- Pasiphae Andre Masson 1937.
Sep 20, 2024 · Learn about André Masson, a leading figure of Surrealism who pioneered automatic drawing and painting. Explore his biography, style, influences, and major works.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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André-Aimé-René Masson (4 January 1896 – 28 October 1987) was a French artist.
A drawing by the surrealist artist André Masson, created by letting his pen move freely on the paper. See the details, dimensions, credit, and exhibition history of this work in MoMA's collection.
