Le Labyrinthe
[1938]
Le Labyrinthe
[1938]
ln a letter to his gallerist Daniel-Henri Kahnweiler, Masson described this work as "the key to the whole series of pictures undertaken since the spring of 1938".
A single totem figure combines the labyrinth of Greek mythology and its Minotaur prisoner, haIf-man, half-bull: but the latter contains the former in a unique inversion of the myth. The giant figure rising against a backdrop reminiscent of the landscapes of the painter's Spanish period, seems to shift between being a landscape, animal, vegetal and architecture. Masson creates a universe of hybrid associations on the brink of chaos, one that is particularly symptomatic of the anxiety-ridden climate that prevailed before the Second World War.
Domain | Peinture |
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Techniques | Huile sur toile |
Dimensions | 120 x 61 cm |
Acquisition | Don de Basil et Elise Goulandris, 1982 |
Inventory no. | AM 1982-46 |
Detailed description
Artist |
André Masson
(1896, France - 1987, France) |
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Main title | Le Labyrinthe |
Creation date | [1938] |
Domain | Peinture |
Techniques | Huile sur toile |
Dimensions | 120 x 61 cm |
Inscriptions | S.B.DR. : andré Masson |
Acquisition | Don de Basil et Elise Goulandris, 1982 |
Collection area | Arts Plastiques - Moderne |
Inventory no. | AM 1982-46 |