Harvard Art Museums > 2006.22: L'Espagne assassinée from Solidarité Prints Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"L'Espagne assassinée from Solidarité (André Masson)(Stanley William Hayter) , 2006.22,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 26, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/5529. This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2006.22 People André Masson, French (Balagne 1896 - 1987 Paris) Stanley William Hayter, British (London, England 1901 - 1988 Paris, France) Title L'Espagne assassinée from Solidarité Classification Prints Work Type print Date 1938 Culture French Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/5529 Physical Descriptions Medium Etching on white wove paper Technique Etching Dimensions plate: 8 x 10.9 cm (3 1/8 x 4 5/16 in.) sheet: 22.4 x 16.1 cm (8 13/16 x 6 5/16 in.) Inscriptions and Marks Signed: lower right in graphite pencil: André Masson inscription: lower margin, graphite pencil, in artist's hand: 144/150 André Masson State, Edition, Standard Reference Number Edition 144/150 Standard Reference Number Saphire 65 Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Margaret Fisher 1986 Fund Copyright © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris Accession Year 2006 Object Number 2006.22 Division Modern and Contemporary Art Contact am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Commentary André Masson joined the Surrealist movement in 1924 and had numerous breaks and reconciliations with the movement through the 1940s. In 1938 Masson was invited to contribute a print to the album Solidarité that was published to raise money for Spanish orphans during the Civil War. The album contained prints by Miro, Picasso, Tanguy, and others, with the addition of a poem by Paul Eluard. Masson's etching L'Espagne assassinée vividly illustrates the idea of civil war, depicting a chicken (symbolizing Spain) attacking and blinding itself. Masson also incorporated the symbol of the swastika (reversed in the printing process) as an appendage of the bird's leg to equate Franco with German fascism. This print marks the first collaboration between Masson and the British printmaker Stanley William Hayter. Hayter was deeply moved by the Spanish Civil War (as was Masson) and was responsible for organizing the Solidarité album and printing it at his experimental workshop Atelier 17 in Paris. Hayter continued to work with Masson and became an important figure in his printing career. Hayter later relocated Atelier 17 to New York and continued working with experimental printing techniques. Masson made eighteen prints there between 1941 and 1945 while he was in exile. The second print, Rodeo, is representative of this period. Masson saw his first rodeo in 1945 and soon thereafter made this print. The subject matter shows a clear relationship to the bullfight, which Masson had previously depicted during his stay in Spain. He later used a similar composition depicting a slain bull in the album Toro (1951). Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
