Impressionismus & Moderne Lot 3201 – 3317 Freitag, 23. Juni 2023, 16.30 Uhr

BRONZE SCULPTURES BY ANDRÉ MASSON FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION INWESTERN SWITZERLAND From 1927 onwards, André Masson began to explore the world of sculpture, making him the second Surrealist, after Max Ernst, to turn his attention to the sculptural form. Over a period of about 60 years (until his death in 1987), Masson’s en­ gagement with sculpture can be beautifully traced through numerous sketches, producing 26 distinct sculptures. 'Sculp- ture is always on my mind. Therefore, it only required minor external triggers, such as an address, a conversation with a friend, reading a book, or simply some spare time for me to begin working. It was even easier when all I had to do back then was open my sketchbooks to decide on a design’ (Buchholz/Wolbert, 2003, p. 312, translated fromGerman). His sculptural forms also overlap thematically with his painterly work, with themes of metamorphosis, classical mythology, and the human condition in all its forms being handled in his sculptures. Masson preferred to use clay, plaster or terracotta as materials for his models. These 26 works were later cast in bronze, in two or three versions, each in small editions. We are delighted to be offering the first part of an almost complete collection of Masson bronzes in our Summer 2023 auction. All bronzes were cast in 1987 at the F. Brustolin Verona foundry, fromwhere they were acquired directly by the present owner.