£8,000
Modern British and Contemporary Art | 511
Auction: 17 January 2018 at 11:00 GMT
1923, signed in pencil to margin and numbered 47/60, lithograph
Note: 'What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or disturbing subject matter...like a comforting influence, a mental balm - something like a good armchair in which one rests from physical fatigue.'
Henri Matisse is generally considered one of the most important artists of the twentieth century, and a leading figure in modern art. He made prints throughout his career, starting working in lithography in 1906, and returning to it again and again. The offered work dates from a particularly productive period, when from 1922-25 Matisse created fifty lithographs, mainly of women and decorative patterns.
Artistically, Matisse viewed printmaking as an extension of drawing, and thus a direct expression of the artist's thoughts. Formally, it was an opportunity to re-focus on line and composition. The painterly qualities of lithography particularly suited Matisse's technique, and his interest in rich detail and texture. In fact, Matisse preferred a version of lithography called transfer lithography where instead of drawing directly onto the stone, the artist was able to utilise transfer-paper, drawing directly onto the paper, the image was then transferred onto the stone and printed. This meant the image was not reversed and often the grain of paper was captured within the image.
Seated Young Woman with a Bouquet of Flowers reflects Matisse's key interests in print-making. The subject is a young woman, surrounded by decorative patterns. He creates a bold composition, by angling different patterns against each other. There are the expected visual patterns - the floral pattern in the sitter's blouse, and on the vase, and the bold horizontal striping of the blinds behind her, but these are juxtaposed with patterning created by the artist to add depth and texture, his graphic mark-making in the table surface and the distant sky. It has been suggested that even when working in monochromatic prints, Matisse's works have the sense of being colourful. That is true here. We can easily imagine the bold colours that would feature in an oil painting version, especially in the bold patterning, yet the monochromatic simplicity allows Matisse's compositional insight, and ability to manipulate the qualities of lithography, to really shine.