Description: Outstanding 1955 color aquatint etching, "Acteurs Chinois," by important surrealist artist Andre Masson (1896-1987). André Masson studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Masson settled in Paris in 1920 holding his first one-man show at Galerie Simon in Paris in 1924. That same year Masson met André Breton and joined the Surrealist group, making automatic drawings and paintings and exploring themes related to eroticism and violence. He illustrated books and his works were reproduced regularly in the magazine La Révolution Surréaliste. In 1925 he participated in the first Surrealist exhibition, at the Galerie Pierre in Paris. After breaking with the Surrealists, Masson worked in various idioms: progressing from violent and erotic themes interpreted with increasingly abstract forms to more figurative landscapes to massacre subjects and finally, when he lived in Spain from 1934 to 1936, Spanish subjects. In 1933 the artist designed sets and costumes for the Ballets Russes. Thereafter he frequently designed for the theater, the opera and the ballet. Masson returned to Paris in 1936, and the following year reconciled with the Surrealists. In 1941 he fled German occupied France for America, where be settled in New Preston, Connecticut. His first major museum exhibition took place at The Baltimore Museum of Art in 1941. During his sojourn in America, Masson showed frequently with artists in exile, for example at the opening exhibition of Peggy Guggenheim’s Art of This Century in New York, and delivered lectures on modern art. In 1943 he made his final break with Breton and with official Surrealism. Masson returned to France in 1945. In the succeeding years be painted landscapes as well as abstract works and continued to explore the violent and erotic imagery of his early years. Plaisir de peindre, a volume of Masson ‘s collected writings, was published in 1950. In 1965, at the request of André Malraux and Jean-Louis Barrault, he decorated the ceiling of the Odéon, Théàtre de France, in Paris. In 1976 The Museum of Modem Art in New York held a major Masson retrospective. This color aquatint (a relatively rare medium for Masson), known as "Acteurs Chinois" or "Signes Chinois" according to several sources, was done in 1955 during the zenith of Masson's career. Produced in a small edition size of only 50 prints (it's numbered 7/50 lower left), it is signed lower right. It measures 17.5" x 23.25" (image size). It is in good condition though it appears to have toning (yellowing of the paper) and there are several small pale stains in the upper margin (visible only upon close inspection). Please see my other auctions for more fine paintings and prints.
Price: 599 USD
Location: Holliston, Massachusetts
End Time: 2025-02-08T15:06:44.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
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Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Seller
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Signed: Signed
Edition Type: Limited Edition
Edition Size: 50
Print Type: Aquatint
Size Type/Largest Dimension: Medium (Up to 30in.)
Artist: André Masson
Style: Abstract
Listed By: Dealer or Reseller
Material: Aquatint
Date of Creation: 1950-1969
Features: Signed
Subject: Abstract
Original/Reproduction: Original Print
Type: Print
