The Frogs 1948

Andre Masson made this lithograph, called The Frogs, with brown, black, and green crayon-like strokes. It’s all action, like he’s right there in the pond with them! I can imagine Masson, bent over the litho stone, grinding away, adding those luscious browns and greens. I bet he was thinking about movement, the quick darting life of these little amphibians. He really captures the feeling of leaping, swimming, the quick flicker of life in a pond. It reminds me of Joan Miró, who was also into these biomorphic forms that suggest life without describing it. That heavy black line, zipping across the surface, it’s like a scribble but it's also precise, like he knows exactly where it needs to go. You can feel him thinking and acting at the same time. It feels honest, direct. Painters are always in conversation with one another, across time, borrowing and inventing. Masson is part of this ongoing exchange, showing us new ways of seeing and feeling the world.