Jean-Paul-Armand Mousseau was born in Montreal in 1921. From 1940 to 1945, he studied at Collège Notre-Dame, where he spent time at Brother Jérôme Paradis’s studio. Shortly after, he enrolled in the École du meuble de Montréal, where he studied under Paul-Émile Borduas. In 1946, he took part in the Automatistes’ first Montreal exhibition, and in 1948, he was among the signatories of the Refus global. In the late 1940s, his painting and drawing took a decisively non-figurative turn and he developed a style not unlike geometric abstraction, of which this work on paper, dated 1946, is a prime example.
In parallel to his works on paper and paintings, Mousseau produced sculptures, jewellery, painted fabrics, posters, and stained-glass windows. He also designed sets, costumes, masks, and stage lighting during the 1950s.
Mousseau died in his native city on February 7, 1991, at the age of 64. In 1997, a major retrospective of his work was presented at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal.
