André-Aimé-René Masson (4 January 1896 – 28 October 1987) was a French artist.
Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Thérain, near Senlis in Picardy, but was brought up in Belgium. He studied art in Brussels and Paris. He fought for France in World War I and was seriously injured.
Masson's 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 ...
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André-Aimé-René Masson (4 January 1896 – 28 October 1987) was a French artist.
Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Thérain, near Senlis in Picardy, but was brought up in Belgium. He studied art in Brussels and Paris. He fought for France in World War I and was seriously injured.
Masson's 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 would often force himself to work under strict conditions, for example, after long periods of time without food or sleep, or under the influence of drugs. He believed forcing himself into a reduced state of consciousness would help his art be free from rational control, and hence get closer to the workings of his subconscious mind.
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,...
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