Galerie Cazeau-Béraudière, Paris
Private Collection, France

Frankfurt, Die Galerie, André Masson Retrospective, 2001-02
Darmstadt, Institut Mathildenhöhe, André Masson, Vues du labyrinthe de l'âme, 2003, no. 13, illustra⛦ted in color in the catalogue

Work is in very good condition. Original canvas with edges reinforced. Surface is clean. A few minor pin head sized pigment losses in lower right corner. Under UV light: dime sized spot of inpainting above candle in upper left quadrant, scattered pin head sized spots of inpainting in upper register, and a few strokes at upper left corner to address frame abrasion. There are also a few tiny strokes of inpainting in the pitcher and in the background.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Painted in 1924, La Bougie allumée marks a new departure for Masson's art. His debt to André Derain, evident in the artist's paintings from previous years, is now overshadowed by a growing interest in exploration for new vocabulary and visual expression. His new compositions paid homage to Picasso and Braque and he adopted motifs associated with analytical Cubism, evident in the radical use of light and space in the present work. Picasso, impressed by Masson's striking canvases commented that he 'turned Cubism inside out' (quoted in 'Mouvement et métamorphose' in Le plaisir de peindre, Paris, October 1949, p. 169).

The intersecting of geometric forms and meandering lines constructs a sense of pervasive movement in La Bougie allumée. In discussing Masson's Cubist works, Dawn Ades comments, "The restricted colors (brown, green, ochre, grey) recall those of analytical Cubism, and the surface has in parts a broken faceted appearance, with occasional juxtaposition of different viewpoints of objects revealing the influence of Juan Gris, the forms of human figures, birds, fishes are not broken up but remain whole, and contract and swell in curvilinear shapes" (Dawn Ades, "Movement and Metamorphosis", André Masson: Line unleashed, London, 1987, p. 23). By keeping objects intact, such as the candle and the halved apples in the present work, Masson invests them with a symbolic force. The apples with the exposed seeds at the lower part of the canvas are emblematic of the Biblical reference where a taste of forbidden fruit is the cause for the first fall of man. The candle dominates the right side of the canvas and adds a dramatic play of light and shadow to this mysterious ensemble.

Fig. 1 From left to right: Georges Malkine, André Masson, André Breton, Max Morize andဣ George Neveaux, Nice, 1924