Danseuse Etendue, Les Bras Joints. Dancer Resting Lying Down, Her Arms Together. by Henri Matisse, 1869-1954

Henri Matisse, 1869-1954
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Danseuse Etendue, Les Bras Joints. Dancer Resting Lying Down, Her Arms Together.

Original lithograph in black ink. 1927. Signed in pencil. Numbered (10) from the edition of 15 proofs on japan paper. There was also an edition of 130 impressions on wove Arches
Paper). Issued in the series: Dix Danseuses - Ten Dancers. Published by the Galerie d'Art Contemporain, Paris 1927.
Ref: Duthuit-Matisse - Matisse L'Oeuvre Gravé no 488.

Excellent very strong impression on cream japan paper. Excellent condition. Full margins. Sheet: 12 3/4 x 19 5/8ins. Image overall: 9 7/8 x 16 1/8ins (250x410mm).

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A beautiful impression on japan paper of one of the famous ballerina compositions from Matisse?s magisterial sequence of studies in lithography ?Ten Dancers?, drawn in 1927.

Matisse?s interest in studies of the figure was always that of expressing the spatial ?presence? of the form. The arrangement of limbs and torso was a way of creating planes and depth in the manner of sculpture. At the same time he wanted to capture the contrasting emotional quality inherent in the model, either through settings or through texture. In the late 1920?s he became fascinated by the way that the textures and frills of a ballet dancer?s dress contrasted with the smooth control and implied power in their bodies. The arrangement of the arms and legs, with the flowing contour lines, precisely describe space, whilst the gauze and embroidery of the dress evoke all the emotions and exoticism of the theatre.