Galerie Simon, Paris
Buchholz Gallery (Curt Valentin), New York
Galerie Jan Krugier, Genève (1970)
Galerie Cazeau-Béraudière, Paris
Collection particulière, France 

Paris, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Rétrospective Masson, 1965
Tokushima Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, Artists who made a refuge to America, 1993, no. 42, reproduit p. 41 
Tokushima Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, Artists around Surrealism, 1997
Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, André Masson (1896-1987), 2004, reproduit p. 240
Paris, Galerie Cazeau-Béraudière, America, 2004

 

The canvas is not lined. There is some localised frame rubbing mostly in the 4 corners. No retouching appears to be visible under UV light. The canvas is slightly buckled in the upper right corner. This work is in very good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

signed 'André Masson' (lower centre), inscribed 'Les vieux souliers, tempera, 1944' (on the reverse), oil and tempera on canvas. Painted in 1944.

Fig. 1  André Masson, Paysage iroquois, 1942, huile sur toile, Collection Simone Collinet, P🍌aꦓris

Fig. 2  Vincent van Gogh, Les souliers, 1887, huile sur toile, The Cone Collection, constituée par Dr. Claribel Cone et Etta Cone de Baltimore, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland

 

Fuyant la France de Vichy, Masson débarque à New York en 1941 après un périple de plusieurs mois via la Martinique, où il retrouve notamment André Breton et Wifredo Lam. Fasciné par la végétation luxuriante de cette île exotique, il est, à son arrivée aux Etats-Unis, immédiatement bouleversé par la puissance de la nature américaine qui devient très vite pour lui une source vitale d'inspiration. Masson déclare notamment dans une interview en 1945 : "Ce qui caractérise mon œuvre américaine est sa manière d'exprimer ce sentiment de la nature...C'est aux Etats-Unis que j'ai voulu peindre cette peinture que j'appellerai d'une manière ambitieuse chtonienne, cette nature des forces souterraines... Je n'abandonnais pas le surréalisme mais je lui donnais un sens nouveau, tellurique" (Interview avec James Johnson Sweeney, Eleven Europeans in America, New York, Museum of Modern Art Bulletin, ꧙1946, pp. 3).

 

Les vieux souliers déborde d'une énergie électrique. Exécutée sur un fond terrien, elle possède des couleurs proches d'un automne américain, une explosion presque phosphorescente de jaune, de rouge, d'orange et de violet caractéristique des meilleures œuvres de la période (Fig. 1). Cette impression est accentuée par les effets de texture et les quelques grains de sable saupoudrés qui rendent la surface étonnement étincelante et vibrante. Son sujet, d'un premier abord abstrait, la distingue pourtant des œuvres inspirées par la mythologie classique ou la nature environnante. Ici Masson retrouve Van Gogh (Fig. 2) et transforme un sujet classique en un orage fiévreux, ouvrant ainsi la voie à une génération d'artistes américain𒊎s, Aschille Gorky et Jackson Pollock en tête.  

 

Fleeing the Vichy government in France; Masson arrived in New York in 1941 after stopping en route for several months in Martinique, where he met up with André Breton and Wilfredo Lam.  Fascinated initially by the luxurious vegetation of this tropical island, upon his arrival in the United States he was immediately overwhelmed by the power of the American landscape which quickly became a crucial source of inspiration.  Masson declared notably in an interview in 1945: "What characterises my American oeuvre is the way of expressing this impression of nature ... it is in the United States that I wished to create this painting that I would ambitiously call "chtonienne" , this nature of underground forces ... I would not abandon surrealism but I would give it a new telluric meaning (interview with James Johnson Sweeney, Eleven Europeans in America, N♉ew York, Museum of Modern Art Bulletin, 1946,💫 pp. 3).

Les vieux souliers bursts with electric energy.  Painted against an earthy background, it has similar colo🌠urs to an American fall, an almost ෴phosphorescent explosion of yellow, red, orange and violet that are characteristic of his finest work of this period.  (Fig. 1).  This impressionist is enhanced by the textural effects and the sprinkling of grains of sand which make the surface astonishingly sparkling and vibrant.  Its subject, which at first glance appears abstract, distinguishes it however from the oeuvres inspired by classical mythology or the natural environment.  Here Masson reworks Van Gogh (Fig. 2) and transforms a classic subject into a feverish storm, thus paving the way for a generation of American artists, chiefly Aschille Gorky et Jackson Pollock.