André Masson: Surrealist Erotic Nude Original Hand Signed Lithograph on Paper

Just as the Pompidou Museum in Metz is launching a new major André Masson retrospective, I though it was time to present our "surrealist nude", an original lithograph by the artist. It is both signed in the plate and in pencil in the margins, and annotated HC for Hors Commerce (not for sale through regular commercial channels).

Having narrowly escaped death during the First World War and sensitive to the writings of Sade and his friend Georges Bataille , his work can be interpreted as an uncompromising questioning of human barbarity and perversion. Making no concessions, Masson "never cared to please”.

Masson's career truly began in 1922, when he moved to No. 45 rue Blomet . While his works demonstrate his interest in Cubism , contact with Miró , with whom he shares a studio, makes him evolve towards a quest for the irrational, heightened by his meeting with the writers such as Max Jacob and Antonin Artaud. The rue Blomet workshop became “the equivalent for surrealism of the Bateau-Lavoir for cubism.

During the summer of 1925, the artist stayed in Antibes where he met Picasso.

In 1928, he traveled to Holland and Germany and learned about engraving, sculpture ( Metamorphosis ) as well as theatre and interior decor. The same year, under the influence of Bataille, Masson also devoted himself to the illustration of poetic texts: "Justine" by the Marquis de Sade and "History of the Eye" by Georges Bataille. Masson's graphics become nervous and tormented, reflecting a mixture of eroticism and perversion. For reasons linked to their respective life paths, the Masson and his friend Bataille share the same questions, tinged with fascination, about human cruelty. The lithograph presented here may be viewed in this context.

Reconnecting with his friend André Breton, Masson participated in the surrealist exhibitions in London (1936) and Paris (1938). Until 1939, he continued his collaboration with Bataille in the magazine Acephale , of which he was the sole illustrator.

More than 90 works by the artist are at the Georges-Pompidou National Center for Art and Culture. His works can also be found at the Museum of Modern Art in New York as well as at the Tate Gallery and at the Museum of Modern Art of the city of Paris.

The plate size of our lithograph is 47.5 x 31.5 cm. The overall framed size is 74 x 56.5 cm

Nous parlons français, und wir sprechen auch Deutsch! Paintings may be viewed in Norwich and in Paris, as well as in London and Cambridge by appointment. Please contact us if you would like further details and images of an artwork.