Color lithograph after the work by Henri Matisse, plate-signed by Matisse from the edition of 200.
This lithograph was printed and published in 2007 in our Art-Lithographies workshop in Paris using 100% cotton 300 g/m² BFK Rives paper. Artwork entirely made in France: from the production of the paper in Arches in the Vosges department, to the traditional lithographic printing process, one drawing for each different color, one color per press run.
The lithograph was authorized, supervised and validated by the Matisse Estate. On the back of the lithograph feature the copyright of the Matisse Estate and the copyright of the original printer and publisher of this edition.
Delivered with a certificate of authenticity.
Nu Bleu I (Blue Nude I)
YEAR: 2007
DIMENSIONS: 58x79 cm (22.8'x31.1' in)
EDITION: 200
PAPER: BFK Rives
PRINTERS: Art-Lithographies studio, Paris
PUBLISHERS: Artvalue, Luxembourg
COA: Yes. Signed by the original printers & publishers
The Blue Nudes refer to a series of cut-outs by Henri Matisse completed in 1952. They represent seated female nudes, and are among Matisse’s final body of works. The pose he finally arrived at for all four works—intertwining legs and an arm stretching behind the neck—was his favorite. The color blue signified distance and volume to Matisse. Frustrated in his attempts to successfully marry dominant and contrasting tones, the artist was moved to use solid slabs of single color early in his career, a technique that became known as Fauvism.
Many critics consider this to be his most innovative period. He had begun to experience severe arthritis and had a bout with cancer which forced him to be confined in a wheelchair. He could no longer stand to paint, so instead he created paintings with scissors by cutting pieces of colorful paper and gluing them onto larger pieces of paper with the help of his assistants. They were called « gouaches découpés » (cutouts). The painted gouache cut-outs that comprise the Blue Nudes were inspired by Matisse's collection of African sculpture and a visit that he made to Tahiti in 1930.