The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Paysage au serpent (Landscape with Snake)

Paysage au serpent (Landscape with Snake)

1927
(French, 1896–1987)
Unframed: 65 x 46 cm (25 9/16 x 18 1/8 in.)

Did You Know?

Although this type of painting was known as "automatic," Masson acknowledged that the process was both subconscious and conscious.

Description

Surrealists such as André Masson believed that reality could be grasped only by unlocking the secrets of the subconscious mind. His pioneering technique known as automatic painting emphasized working spontaneously, thereby allowing subconscious thoughts to emerge during the creative process. Masson worked rapidly when painting Landscape with Snake, applying gestural brushstrokes over a tan background and gouging through wet paint with a pencil. While forms occasionally coalesce to suggest a snake, a bird, or water flowing through a forest, the true subject is the dynamic process of painting.
  • [Galerie Simon, Paris]
    [The Mayor Gallery, London]
    Private collection, Paris
    [Guttklein Gallery, Paris]
  • Robinson, William. “Acquisition Highlights 2016: Modern Art.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 57, no. 2 (March/April 2017): 12. Reproduced: P. 12; Mentioned: P. 7, 12.
    Masson, Guite, Martin Masson, and Catherine Loewer. André Masson: catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, 1918-1941. Vaumarcus: ArtAcatos, 2010. Reproduced: P. 371, no. 30
  • Recent Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 17-June 7, 2018).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (03/17/2018-06/06/2018): "Recent Acquisitions 2014-2017"
  • {{cite web|title=Paysage au serpent (Landscape with Snake)|url=false|author=André Masson|year=1927|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2016.55