Dawn in Montserrat 1935

André Masson made this watercolour painting, Dawn in Montserrat, sometime in the 20th Century. What I love about this piece is the way Masson allows the watercolour to bloom and bleed, creating these soft, dreamlike forms. You can see the process right there on the page, like a snapshot of thought itself. Look at the sun—it’s this fiery red vortex, but rendered in such a delicate, almost hesitant way. It's like he's conjuring the dawn rather than depicting it. The mountain forms below are equally ambiguous, their shapes dissolving into the washes of color. The red forms stand out in stark contrast, punctuating the scene with their boldness, but they, too, seem to float, untethered. Masson’s work reminds me a bit of Joan Miró, another artist who embraced spontaneity and chance in his art. Both artists create worlds that feel both familiar and utterly strange, inviting us to wander through the landscapes of our own imaginations.