Andre Masson Stars and Faces

Lithograph, 1972 Edition: 95/99 Image size: 49.00 × 61.00 cm (19.29 × 24.02 in.) Paper size: 57.00 × 75.50 cm (22.44 × 29.72 in.) Hand-signed by the artist in pencil Comes with Certificate of Authenticity Good condition Slight tanning on paper About the work This lithograph, created in 1972, is a work that symbolizes André Masson's late-period fantastic and cosmic worldview. As the title "Stars and Faces" suggests, this piece shows a poetic space where celestial bodies and human existence are integrated, and dreams and the cosmos intersect. The images of faces that emerge on the canvas are not fixed as clear portraits, but rather change as they dissolve with stars and symbolic forms. Human faces are not merely figures, but are depicted as images symbolizing the spirit, memory, and cosmic existence, prompting various interpretations from the viewer. The flowing curves and light brushwork breathe the free spirit of automatism (automatic writing) that Masson explored for many years. At the same time, their soft rhythmic feel suggests an interest in Oriental calligraphy, with the lines themselves moving as if alive. In Masson's works of the 1970s, the tension of his early Surrealist period is replaced by a more meditative and cosmic spirituality. In this work, too, stars are not just celestial bodies, but are depicted as symbols of the human inner world, dreams, and longing for the infinite. Furthermore, the soft texture and rich gradations characteristic of lithographs give the entire canvas a dreamlike atmosphere. This work, which fuses abstraction and figuration, mythology and the cosmos, the unconscious and poetic sentiment, is a piece that conveys the refined charm of André Masson's late art.