Decalcomania is a process that is similar to the monotype technique and consists in applying one sheet of paper over another covered in gouache, pressing them together and then immediately separating them. The effect of the gouache, which is still liquid, creates random textures that are reminiscent of rocks, corals and the abysmal geological depths populated by marine flora. In his article “D'une décalcomanie sans object préconçu (décalcomanie du désir)””[Of a Decalcomania Without a Preconceived Object (Decalcomania of Desire)], published in the magazine Minotaure in June of 1936, André Breton signaled Óscar Domínguez as the inventor of this new technique.

In several compositions from 1936 produced at the studio of Surrealist painter Marcel Jean, Domínguez added stencils and vignettes to this technique as a measure for correcting chance. Thus arose the “automatic decalcomania with premeditated interpretation.” Domínguez focused on the motif of the lion, possibly a symbol of sexual desire, while Marcel Jean applied the same procedure to the motif of the window. The 16 resulting compositions had been produced for the book Grisou, which should have been published by editor Guy Lévis Mano in 1937, but fell through due to a lack of subscribers. The publication was eventually completed by Marcel Jean in 1990.