Henri Matisse

French artist Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. With a career spanning over five decades, he worked across sculpture, painting, printmaking, and collage until the 1950’s. He is well known for his use of colour and decorative style and widely respected for being one of the revolutionary artists responsible for significant developments in artistic practice.
During his final bed bound years, he made his famous cut-outs by ‘drawing with scissors’. He would cut into brightly coloured papers and arrange them on the wall of his studio, with the help of his assistants, until he was happy with the composition. Sea life, foliage, fruit, acrobats, divers and dancers took over his Paris flat in a form of ‘self-defence’ against the darkest days of war and chronic illness.

Verve; (volume no. 35/36) ‘Last Works of Matisse, 1950–1954’:
In 1937, art critic and publisher Tériade contacted his longtime friend Henri Matisse to collaborate on his latest project; an art magazine he called Verve. High-quality lithographic colour reproductions of his artworks would attract a wider audience and make important artwork more accessible to the public.
The works were created at Mourlot Studios, a print house in Paris, who had recently worked on a local exhibition with Matisse. He was so impressed by their quality that Mourlot became the sole printer of Verve, and went on to create groundbreaking lithographs with Braque, Bonnard, Rouault, Miró, and then Picasso.
Matisse’s paper cutouts, or gouaches découpés, feature on seven of Verve’s covers, including a dedicated issue (volume no. 35/36) titled ‘Last Works of Matisse, 1950–1954’. Proofs for the issue were printed in early 1954 under Matisse’s supervision (Matisse died later that year), and the issue was published in 1958. The magazine ceased publication in 1960 after 38 issues, signifying the end of an era.
This volume is entirely dedicated to his final works, of which 40 are in full colour. These lithographs are considered a loving homage to his long and illustrious career, and we are delighted to be able to sell them individually.

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