These lithographs were begun in 1950, almost at the end of the artist's life, and are from the only edition of lithographs of the cut-outs produced directly by Matisse working with Mourlot. The images reproduce his iconic pochoir designs and were incorporated into a volume of the French portfolio Verve, ‘Dernieres Oeuvres de Matisse’, also known as Verve 35/36, celebrating his last works and published posthumously by Teriade in Paris in 1958.

This image is usually considered to be based upon Josephine Baker, an American-born French dancer who took Paris by storm in the 1920s and 30s. Her most famous costume consisted of a beaded necklace and a skirt made of artificial bananas, which Matisse evokes in the orange form gathered around his figure's waist. Her association with jazz music may also have been an inspiration.

Matisse began work on the cut-out for La Negresse in late 1952, and worked on the composition until early 1953. It originally spread across two walls of his apartment at the Hôtel Régina in Nice. The huge scale of the work (4.5 x 6.2m) meant that the figure's legs and feet had to trail along the floor to make it fit the room. The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. acquired the cut-out in 1973.

This lithograph captures brilliantly the visual qualities of the cut-out and its sense of grandeur, particularly the effect of the cut-out forms in their daring expanse of open space.

The lithographs are in stunning condition and are becoming extremely scarce.

Referenced in the Catalogue Raisonne: Duthuit 139. Freitag 6231

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