Henri Matisse

HENRI MATISSE, (France, 1869 - 1954).
"Dessins. Thèmes et variations", 1943.
Lithograph on paper.
Signed in plate.
Certificate of authenticity attached.
Measurements: 24 x 32 cm; 51.50 x 60 cm (frame).
The suite "Dessins. Thèmes et variations" consists of 158 different models of Matisse's drawings, made by the artist between 1939 and 1943, reproduced in lithograph in the album mentioned above. Due to the vicissitudes of the Second World War and the occupation of Paris, most of the edition was lost, to the point that it is estimated that only 10% of it survives today.
An edition of great beauty and emblematic content for Matisse. Given the artist's physical isolation in the city of Nice during the war, he had to work mainly on drawings, as he lacked material for his canvases. As a result, Matisse developed an enormous corpus of ink and pencil drawings of great quality and thematic variety. The master's great concern was that these drawings would be commercially dispersed at the end of the war, so he and his Parisian publisher Martin Fabiani decided to create a project to publish them. The one hundred and fifty best drawings were selected and reproduced in lithographic technique under the generic title of "Thèmes et variations".