Mist in the Valley of the Arc 1956

Andre Masson made this landscape print called 'Mist in the Valley of the Arc' sometime in the 20th century. It’s all about the dance between gray and gold, a limited palette that sings. You can tell he’s thinking about the process of artmaking as much as the landscape itself. I love how the gray builds up, almost like a cloud of texture, creating these weighty, stone-like shapes in the foreground. Then, you’ve got this golden haze sprinkled throughout, lifting it all up. It’s not just about seeing a valley; it's about feeling the weight and the light, the solid and the ephemeral. The way he’s speckled the colors together reminds me of the pointillist landscapes of Seurat, but with a much looser, more intuitive vibe. Looking at this piece, I can't help but think of another landscape artist like Paul Nash, someone equally invested in the poetics of place. It's like they’re both whispering secrets about the earth and sky, inviting us to listen in.