Henri Matisse

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.

Matisse referred to La Perruche et la Sirene as "a little garden all around me where I can walk." Following surgery for abdominal cancer in the 1940's, the artist was often confined to his bed and unable to spend time outside among his plants and flowers. This piece is perhaps the most stunning example of his determination to use the possibilities of art to overcome his infirmities.

The scene combines elements of both the terrestrial and aquatic worlds; the vegetation may refer to either seaweed or the familiar leaves of the acanthus plant. While the parakeet and the pomegranates clearly belong to the land, the presence of the mermaid is more ambiguous. La Perruche et la Sirene is a compendium of the visual stimuli that Matisse had experienced on his 1930 visit to Tahiti. While creating his cut-outs he said that “The memories of my voyage to Tahiti have only now returned to me, fifteen years later, in the form of obsessive images: madrepores, corals, birds, jellyfish, sponges...” The brilliant tropical colours, exotic bird and vibrant fruits in this piece are the afterimages of that journey.

The figure of the mermaid was a relatively late addition to the composition. Having cleared a space at the top right of the composition, Matisse tried out a number of figures representing the blue nude, adjusting the placement of the vegetation as necessary. Ultimately, he chose to cut a completely new figure.

The original cut-out was acquired by the Stedelijk Musem in Amsterdam in 1967. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest of Matisse's works.

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

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