HENRI  MATISSE

"Charcoal Nude II"

"Nu Fusain II"

There is one other heliogravure printed on verso.

The second heliogravure is of  a "Nude",

1954 

Remember the great investment advise:

"Buy the highest quality work by the greatest name."

This buying opportunity allows you to easily do that.

This is an original heliogravure print by a name that will survive centuries.

We have shown here pictures of the actual heliogravures you will receive.   Also, we have included pictures of the title page and art description page of the book from which it came.  Remember, too, that this art work was selected by the artist himself to be included in this, his final book of lithographs and prints.   And, he, personally, was overseeing the continuing work on the book and its artwork to be sure it was measuring up to his high standards. 

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DETAILS:

•   Date:    1958.  Each original heliogravure print image was actually a painting with blank paint.  Each is signed with either his initials or his first name initial and his full last names.  Each is also dated.   Each was signed and dated by Matisse in the plate, as you can see.    Then, they were not released to the public until 1958 with the book's release.

•   Type:  Original Heliogravure.   One nude page print with one tree on the reverse side. 
•   Grade:  Fine to Very Fine.   
•   Guarantee and Authentication: 
•        Certificate of Authenticity & Provenance, 2 copies, upon request.
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• For sale is the one sheet with the two heliogravures, the Charcoal Nude II & the Nude.  The title page is not included.

•   Image:  Black and White Heliogravure, Signed in the plate with the artist's full name and the date of the original, Avril 19, 47 . 
• On the reverse is a Nude, signed "H M, dated 36",  the date of the original.
•  Created and edited at the Mourlot Studio, Paris, 1954, under the supervision of Matisse.    It was issued by Teriade for Verve, Paris, 1958.  This is an excellent impression with totally fresh shading and contrast, on pale cream smooth wove paper.  This is in excellent original condition.  
•    **ORIGINAL PLATES WERE ERASED AFTER THIS EDITION**
•  We do wish to draw attention to the number of these heliogravure prints in existence.  One source indicates that there were 2000 copies run, another source indicates 2800.  Neither addresses the fact that it was common for the artist to run a few extra copies to be signed and/or given to friends, or sold.  We have gone with the higher estimate.   In either case there are very few quality copies of the lithographs and heliogravures available for sale at any given time.   We are happy to offer this original heliogravure print.
•   American Publisher:  Harcourt, Brace and Company:  NY.
•   Approximate Size (inches):   Each full sheet measures 10 1/4  by 14  inches. 
• NOTE:  THE ORIGINAL STONES OR PLATES WERE DESTROYED AFTER THESE PIECES WERE PRODUCED.

TITLE:     CHARCOAL NUDE - FUSAIN NU  II- - - NUDE on the reverse.

ARTIST:   Henri Matisse.   

CONDITION:    Very Fine .  

DESCRIPTION:  This 60+ year old item is an outstanding piece.   No significant aging.  No creases.  No other natural defects.  No surface rub.   No tears.  No water damage.

This is an excellent opportunity to acquire an original print by a great art genius of the 20th century.   He was truly one of the greatest and the value of his art has endured the test of time.  

Please Note:  This heliogravure print is listed for sale by some art galleries as high as $700.   

As for the art work:  The last works of Matisse, 1950-1954, were reproduced in color lithography and black and white heliogravure.  These works were executed by the artist himself with papers colored in gouache, cut with scissors and pasted, as the color lithographs.  The color lithographs were shown in book form, with drawings of black and white produced at the same time or during the preceding period.   For the prints offered here, we know when the originals were made since they are clearly  dated.    Matisse composed the cover specially for the book.  The first lithographic plates were printed during the year 1954  under his direction.  The whole work constitutes number 35/36 of VERVE in the French edition.  The lithography in color was printed by MOURLOT Freres, the heliogravure in black and white and the typography by the Master Printers DRAEGER Freres.  The American edition is published by HARCOURT, BRACE and Company, New York.  The printing was completed the 28th of July 1958.   All are printed in France.  The Copyright is in France by VERVE, Paris-France 1958.

Remember that he started to work on these art pieces when he was ill and growing weaker and more limited.  He died in 1954 but it took the company until 1958 to finish all the processes to get all the art objects, original lithographs and heliogravures, to the public.  Matisse had planned out the whole project.   

As for the artist:   Henri-émile-Benoît Matisse (31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship.  He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter.   Matisse is commonly regarded, along with Picasso and Marcel Duchamp, as one of the three artists who helped to define the revolutionary developments in the plastic arts in the opening decades of the 20th century, responsible for significant developments in painting and sculpture.    Although he was initially labelled a Fauve (wild beast), by the 1920s he was increasingly hailed as an upholder of the classical tradition in French painting.   His mastery of the expressive language of colour and drawing, displayed in a body of work spanning over a half-century, won him recognition as a leading figure in modern art.

The great French artist Matisse was born on December 31, 1869 at Le Cateau-Cambresis, Nord, and lived a long productive life, dying on November 3, 1954.  His full birth name was Henri-emile-Benoit Matisse.

As an artist his expansive work included drawing, painting, printmaking, collage, and sculpture. His art  training came from the likes of Academie Julian, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, and Gustave Moreau, not to mention tremendous influence of  many great contemporaries that include John Peter Russell, Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul SIgnac.  His art is tied to movements such as  Fauvism, Modernism, and Impressionism.    He, in turn, passed his influence on to innumerable artists including Hans Hofmann, David Hockney, and Tom Wesselmann.  

THIS ITEM FOR SALE IS THE ORIGINAL AND AUTHENTIC  ITEM DESCRIBED ABOVE, GUARANTEED! ...not a reproduction of an original.   Our price is an incredible bargain over what major art dealers charge.

We thank Wikipedia for some of the above information.