THE FIRST UNITED STATES EDITION HARDCOVER ART BOOK WITH BLACK COVERED BOARDS, EMBOSSED COVER AND SPINE TITLES, AND DUST JACKET IS PUBLISHED BY GEORGE BRAZILLER INC. NEW YORK, PRINTED IN HONG KONG IN 1992. TEXT BY HENRI MATISSE TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY SOPHIE HAWKES, INTRODUCTION BY RIVA CASTLEMAN ART HISTORIAN AND CURATOR OF PRINTS AND ILLUSTRATED BOOKS AT THE MUSUEM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK.
THIS IS A RARE OPPORTUNITY FOR TRUE MATISSE FANS AND COLLECTORS AS THIS ICONIC VOLUME COVETED MODERN ART BOOK IS LONG OUT OF PRINT AND VERY SCARCE TO FIND.
THE ORIGINAL EDITION OF " JAZZ " WAS AN ARTIST'S BOOK, PRINTED IN A LIMITED EDITION IN 1947. COMMONLY REGARDED AS ONE OF THE MOST AMBITIOUS ILLUSTRATED BOOKS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. THIS EXQUISITE VOLUME REPRODUCES THAT GROUNDBREAKING VIBRANT POETIC BOOK. THE MAGNIFICENT PURE COLOR CELEBRATES THE RADIANCE AND EMOTIONAL INTENSITY OF THE ARTIST'S OEUVRE.
USING A PAIR OF SCISSORS, MATISSE CUT FORMS OUT OF COLORED SHEETS OF PAPER WHICH HE KEPT ARRANGING AND COMBINING UNTIL HE HAD ACHIEVED A HARMONIOUS JUXTAPOSITION OF PURE COLORS. IN THE ENTIRE PROCESS HE FOUND IT UNNECESSARY TO DRAW A SINGLE LINE. AS HE WROTE IN THE TEXT FOR " JAZZ ", HE DREW WITH SCISSORS, CUTTING INTO THE COLOR AS A SCULPTOR CUTS INTO STONE. IT WAS A HISTORIC MOMENT IN MODERN ART : MATISSE HAD DISCOVERED A BRILLIANT AND SUCCESSFUL NEW METHOD AS A PAINTER.
TO ACCOMPANY THESE IMAGES, WHICH RECALL THE CHROMATIC OPULENCE OF MINIATURE PAINTING, NO PRINTING TYPE SEEMED APPROPRIATE. SO MATISSE, HARKENING BACK TO THE MAGNIFICENT AND PICTURESQUE CALLIGRAPHY OF THE MIDDLE AGES, WROTE THE TEXT IN HIS OWN HAND.
THE RARE OUT OF PRINT SMALL FORMAT HARDCOVER MODERN ART BOOK MEASURES 8 1/8" W X 5 5/8" H X 1/2" D, WITH 96 PAGES, FEATURING 20 OFFSET LITHOGRAPH PRINT COLOR ILLUSTRATIONS, WITH A TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
IT IS IN EXCELLENT " LIKE NEW " CLEAN VINTAGE CONDITION CONSISTENT WITH AGE, USE, LIGHT SIGNS OF HANDLING, AND LIGHT WEAR TO THE DUST JACKET. PLEASE SEE PHOTOS FOR CONDITION REFERENCE. IT IS NOW BEING OFFERED HERE FOR AN EXCELLENT PRICE.