<La Route de Picardie>

In 1922, André Masson undertook a series of woodland scenes inspired by his excursions to the outskirts of Paris. At the foot of the trees, geometric elements immerse the landscape in an atmosphere of uncanniness. Filled with latent and unconscious meaning, they evoke tombs, describe mysterious enclosed spaces or form symbolic figures. The initial title of the work, Allée des tombes [Avenue of Graves], links the scene directly to the artist’s trauma during the First World War (1914-1918). Both a refuge for the imagination and a labyrinth, this forest exudes a sense of sinister menace.