Lot 33: Jean-Paul Armand Mousseau 1927 - 1991 Canadian

Jean-Paul Armand Mousseau 1927 - 1991 Canadian gouache and watercolour on paper La communion des fesses 20 x 14 inches 50.8 x 35.6 centimeters signed and dated 1948 Literature:Pierre Landry, Francine Couture and François-Marc Gagnon, Mousseau, Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, 1997, page 28 Provenance:By descent from the Artist to the present Private Collection, Montreal Exhibited:Librairie Tranquille, Montreal, November 13 - 28, 1948 Exhibited in November 1948 at the Librairie Tranquille where only a few months prior the revolutionary Refus Global was launched, this rare gouache, dated 1948, is a strong example of the uniqueness of Mousseau's Automatist style and temperament. The imbricated colours seem to redefine space as it appeals to the senses and calls for a new way of understanding the pictorial elements. During this period Mousseau had gone beyond Surrealism and aesthetic constraints to achieve that liberating quality which the Automatists stood for. The title, which translates as "The communion of the buttocks", also gives it a provocative and humorous twist which also defined the rebellious aspect of the movement - quite a daring act in a society dominated by the Catholic Church and a repressive government.