Andre Masson, The Kill, 1944

There’s a certain impression a picture can establish into one’s mind the split second they see it for the first time. For The Kill, that impression was frenzied. Perhaps that was the reason I chose this picture, in my hurried attempt to find a picture I could write at length about. So why not something abstract? That's fancy, right?

Truthfully, there's only a little known about Andre Masson. However, you can infer a lot about him through his art. For Masson, an ex-soldier, feelings of distress and hysteria are known well. Enlisting in the military during the first World War, Masson craved the "ecstasy of death" that he would surely experience on the battlefield. Whatever satisfaction or ecstasy Masson had hoped for was null after truly participating in the fray. Later in life, Masson was far from a pleasant man. He had erratic and violent tendencies that were often reflected through his gory and/or erotic art. His gruesome surrealistic style was hardly appreciated by the aesthetically-challenged Nazis.

The painting is defined by the red streaks that are scattered throughout the canvas that are joined by the various organic shapes of yellow, green, and blue. This creates a busy, abstract piece of art that can easily confuse you. The middle allows for some breathing room between the shapes, while the sides become more clustered. The more one looks at it, the more jarring the piece becomes. Taking the title in context, this picture illustrates an act of violence.

The Kill is most certainly one of Masson’s lighter pieces. The pale background, bright colors, and free shapes, allows us to perceive this picture as more lighthearted than it actually is. Perhaps the contrast between The Kill and Masson’s other artwork is to illustrate his earlier perception of war and death to his current understanding.