Printer: Mourlot. Published by Tériade for Verve 

Dimensions: 35.7 x 26.5 cm 

Condition: Very Good

Frame: Unframed or Framed.

Description: Printed signature and date, 'H. Matisse 53'. Printed on wove paper. Printed by Mourlot. 

The roughly nine-foot-square cut-out from which this lithograph takes its design, was inspired by Matisse’s memories of a 1930 trip to Tahiti, and may have been based, in part, on a photograph of a sailing ship that Matisse took from his window while there. The cut-out is now in the collection of MOMA, New York. 

Artist: Henri Matisse (1869-1954) the French artist, draughtsman, printmaker, sculptor and painter was one of the undisputed masters and influential artists of 20th century art. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and would quickly become the leader of the fauvist movement. He was known for his use of brilliant colour, inspired by his time on the French Riviera, and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was one of the three artists, along with Picasso and Marcel Duchamp, who began to revolutionise the artworld from the 1900s. For over 60 years, his vast output included painting, drawing, sculpture, graphic arts – etchings, linocuts, aquatints, paper cut-outs and book illustrations. And he worked with Mourlot studios on lithographs and exhibition posters.