André Masson at Malmaison Cannes

Our son, my wife, and I visited André Masson (1896 - 1987) exhibition at Malmaison, Cannes last Sunday (january 8th 2006).
The exhibition shows Masson's works on some illustrated edition of books, that is, special edition of books --usually very limited-- that include some illustrations.

We can find in the exhibition 17 lithography books. There are two novels of André Malraux, L'Espoir (1948) and Les Conquerants (1949) . We also can find some illustrations for two famous French poets Arthur Rimbaud and Stephane Mallarmé works, respectively Une saison en enfer and Un coup de dés, both were produced in 1961. We preferred the Un coup de dés illustration than the other. There is also a book written by the painter himself, Voyage à Venise that is a récit of his trip to Venise. The illustrations of St Marco and Venise canals are very interesting and make them our favorites.


André Masson was known as a surrealist painter and interacted a lot with André Breton at the very beginning of the surrealist movement although they separated due to some conflicts afterwards. The exhibition however showed only his works after the world war II. Masson himself was one of many artists exiled to United States during the world war II.




A short documentary film was played in the last exhibition room showing how the painter worked. Some of his works in exhibition were in the film.

Finally, we bought the catalog of the exhibition. It is a book of 159 pages that are well prepared, however not all illustrations from Voyage à Venise are included.



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From the catalog:

1896 - André Masson was born on January 4th in Balagny-sur-Thérain in the Oise departement.

1912-193 - André Masson pursues his study in Paris at l'Ecole nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts. He then makes a visit to Tuscan and stayed some times in Switzerland.

1921 - André Masson becomes friends with the Catalan painter, Joan Miro.

1923 - First encounter with surrealism and becomes fiend of André Breton. The latter one publishes the first Manifeste de Surrealism.

1929 - Masson breaks away from the surrealists and from André Breton, whom he finds too dogmatic.

1931 - Masson takes part, alongside De Chirico, Dali, Ernst, Miro, and Picasso in the exhibition Newer Super Realism at Wadsworth Museum in Hartford, Connecticut.

1932 - First exhibition of Masson's work in New York. He meets the writer George Wells and the actor Charlie Chaplin.

1934 - 1936 -Masson sets up home on the Costa Brava, in Catalonia in Spain.

1936 - 1937 - Masson's works figure in the exhibition entitled: Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism at the MOMA in New York

1937 - André Malraux publishes L'Espoir. Masson becomes closer to surrealist again.

1940 - Exile to United States. He joins André Breton, Marcel Duchamp, Benjamin Péret, Jacques Hérold.

1942 - In New York, Masson takes part in the Artists in Exile exhibition at the Pierre Matisse Gallery and in First Papers of Surrealism at the Madison Avenue Gallery.

1943-1944 - Masson definitively splits up with André Breton.

1945 - Masson returns from the United States.

1946 - Masson produces the sixty-eight lithographs for André Malraux L'Espoir (and then published in 1948?)

1948 - Masson illustrates Les Conquérants by André Malraux.

1949 - Masson starts work on the illustrations for Un coup de dés by Stéphane Mallarmé.

1951 - Masson regularly stays in Venise.

1953 - An exhibition of Masson's lithographs is organised at Louisville University in the United States.

1961 - Realisation of Une Saison en Enfer by Arthur Rimbaud.

1963 - Publication of lithography for Marcel Proust, Scrupule de délicatesse (not in Cannes exhibition).

1966 - Nelly Kaplan's film A la source, la femme aimée is released inspired by André Masson erotic drawings. The death of André Breton.

1967 - Retrospective at the Musée des Beaux Arts Lyon.

1973 - André Masson takes part in the André Malraux exhibition at the Maeght Foundation.