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Dimensions: 33 by 41cm.
13 by 16 1/8 in.
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Provenance: PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE FRENCH COLLECTION
Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Paris
Galerie Cazeau-Béraudière, Paris
Acquired from the above by the present owner
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Exhibited: Paris, Artcurial, L'Aventure surréaliste autour d'André Breton, 1986, illustrated in the catalogue
Bern, Kunstmuseum, Masson, Massaker, Metamorphosen, Mythologien, 1996, no. 31, illustrated in the catalogue
Koblenz, Ludwig Museum, André Masson, Rebell des Surrealismus, 1998, no. 48, illustrated in the catalogue
St. Petersburg, Florida, Salvador Dalí Museum, André Masson: the 1930s, 1999-2000, no. 38, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Darmstadt, Institut Mathildenhöhe, André Masson, Vues du labyrinthe de l'âme, 2003, illustrated in the catalogue
Madrid, Musée Reina Sofia, André Masson, 2004, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
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Literature: Michel Leiris and Georges Limbourg, André Masson et son univers, Paris, 1947, illustrated
Jean-Paul Clébert, Mythologie d'André Masson, Geneva, 1971, no. 119, illustrated p. 56
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Notes: In the 1930s, Masson's subjects turned almost exclusively to violent themes. This was certainly partly due to the political unrest in Europe, and the looming possibility of war, which was finally to come about in 1939, the year this work was painted. In the early 1930s, he concentrated on a series known as the Massacres in which turbulent subject matter was combined with strong colours to create a violent visual impact. Masson left France for Spain in 1934 after the Fascist riots broke out in Paris in February of that year. He saw Spain as an idyllic country that would provide respite from the turmoil at home. Unfortunately, Spain's tranquillity was soon disrupted by civil war and Masson returned to Paris in 1936, profoundly affected by these events.
By the time the present work was painted, the artist's palette had become almost acidic and his subjects were exclusively linked to violence and murder. In this painting, a woman is seen violently falling or being pushed off a chair; her intestines are portrayed on fire at the pivotal point of the composition, and the background is lit up by a sharp yellow light that suggests explosion. The two titles for this work La Chute or Le Viol (The Fall or The Rape) suggest layers of interpretation in the image of the woman. The milk from her breast suggests pregnancy and birth - which is often seen as the first fall of man.
This work has been requested for the exhibition Les Années 1930. Utopies et réalité to be held at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa from June to September 2006.
