Tęte de Jeune Fille by Henri Matisse, 1869-1954

Henri Matisse, 1869-1954
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Tęte de Jeune Fille

Original lithograph in brown ink. 1945/47. From the edition of only 50 impressions. (All issued unsigned; no pencil signed edition exists. There was no further edition. Stone erased after this edition.) Drawn, lithograph stones prepared and proofed by Matisse in 1945/47. Edition printed
and first issued by Mourlot, Paris 1972. Issued for the de-luxe suite of the series Poésies Antillaise.
Ref: Duthuit - Matisse L'Oeuvre Gravé Vol 3 no.37 (30).

Very fine strong impression. On pale cream hand-made japon nacré paper. Excellent condition. Worked almost to the sheet size as issued. Sheet: 14 7/8 x 11 3/8ins. (380x288mm)

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A beautiful example of the extraordinary gift for drawing which was one of Matisse's greatest legacies to 20th century art, the ability to incorporate and to express so much through line reduced to its simplest form.

This study is one of twelve compositions which Matisse drew in lithography in 1945/46 in connection with those used in the album: Poésies Antillaises. For this album, inspired by poetry by Jean-Antoine Nau about the islands of the Antilles, Matisse drew twenty-eight studies from models mostly from Polynesia. He then drew twelve further studies in editions of 50 impressions only, including that above, which were only issued with the first 50 sets of the album. (The album edition was 275). The lithographs, as here, from that special group are rare.

Matisse completed and proofed all the stones for the Poésies Antillaises series in 1945/46. However for some reason the actual edition of the album was never pulled at that time. In 1972 the heirs to Matinee's estate agreed with Mourlot, in whose studio Matisse had worked, that the completed stones should be editioned, and the series issued.