Oiseau Noir sur Fond d'Arbres vert. Black Bird against Green Foliage. by Georges Braque, 1882-1963

Georges Braque, 1882-1963
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Oiseau Noir sur Fond d'Arbres vert. Black Bird against Green Foliage.

Original woodcut in colours. 1960/62. Signed in pencil. Inscribed by Braque as H.C. - a proof Hors Commerce, before the edition. Issued signed edition of 50 impressions. Printed at the Atelier Fequet et Baudier, Paris 1962. Issued by Broder, 1962, for the series: Si Je Mourrais
La-Bas.
Ref: Vallier - Braque L'Oeuvre Gravée no 181 (9)
One of the most famous works of Braque's late graphic oeuvre.

Superb impression with beautiful unfaded colours. On handmade cream wove Moulin d'Ambert paper. Excellent condition. Full margins. Image worked virtually to the full
sheet size, as issued. Sheet: 28 1/2 x 14 1/4ins. (470x363mm).

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The soaring bird is certainly the most famous and recognisable symbol of the late period of Braque?s art, and ?Oiseau sur Fond Vert? has become one of the most renowned and admired expressions of this image in the late period of his graphic oeuvre. (It is featured for example on the cover of the Vallier ?catalogue raisonné? of Braque?s prints).

For Braque the bird in flight was a poetic symbol of the eternity of nature and the freedom of the spirit and mind. Within the flowing lines of its shape were form, movement and emotion. It was an image which was inspired by the sense of release and ?new birth? after the war, and it became a central motif of his art throughout the post-ware years.

In creating the image of ?Oiseau sur Fond Vert? Braque chose to use the medium of woodcut. This was an unusual technique for him; he had last used it in 1948 for the composition ?Perséphone?. The graphic quality which particularly attracted Braque to the medium was the way it could be used to create a combination of form and surface within a single shape. It is this which he used to perfection in this image. The cut block of the bird form creates a marvellous flowing poetry which communicates to the viewers innermost senses and emotions in the manner of the anthropomorphic abstract sculptures of Arp or Brancusi. By overprinting white and black within the single block, and by exploiting the surface texture of the deliberately chosen handmade paper so that the white and black mingle and show through each other, he creates a movement and life which interacts in a unique way with the overall contours of the form. The solidity of the bird is then set against intricate textures and overprinted colours in the abstracted ?foliage? of the background to enhance its sense of soaring movement.