These lithographs were begun in 1950, almost at the end of the artist's life, and are from the only edition of lithographs of the cut-outs produced directly by Matisse working with Mourlot. The images reproduce his iconic pochoir designs and were incorporated into a volume of the French portfolio Verve, ‘Dernieres Oeuvres de Matisse’, also known as Verve 35/36, celebrating his last works and published posthumously by Teriade in Paris in 1958.
In 1953 Matisse received a commission to design a ceramic tile mural for an enclosed patio at the home of Frances Lasker Brody, a noted patron of the arts based in Los Angeles. With no specifications in writing, nor any idea of the size of the space, he produced three monumental cut-outs to serve as potential maquettes for the commission: Decoration Masques, Decoration Fruits, and Apollon. When Brody visited the artist's studio in May 1953, she rejected all three designs and requested something less symmetrical and classically-influenced. The result was La Gerbe, which was accepted and finally installed in Los Angeles shortly after Matisse died in November 1954.
Decoration Masques was the largest single cut-out that Matisse produced, measuring 353 x 996 cm. In keeping with its genesis as a maquette for an architectural installation, it is truly architectural in scale. In 1942 the artist had suggested to writer Louis Aragon that he had “an unconscious belief in a future life…some paradise where I shall paint frescoes.” Five years later in 1947 he acknowledged the influence of Islamic art which, he said, “suggests a greater space, a truly plastic space.” Confined to his wheelchair at the end of his life, Matisse was able to realise his ambitions and create work so large that it becomes an environment in itself. Since 1973 the cut-out has been held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C..
The symmetrical design of this image is unusual in Matisse's cut-outs, a feature shared only by its counterparts Decorations Fruits and Apollon. The undulating white form with flowers in the centre of the composition was present from the beginning, but Matisse experimented with adding additional masks throughout the mural before eventually settling upon the final pair. He was delighted with the result, calling it "fresh as snow" and a "complete success." Comparing it favourably to the traditions of Gothic and Romanesque decoration, he also declared that it would be the last such work he would ever produce as he did not feel he could surpass it (this resolve lasted only a few days). He recalled a visit from Picasso: "He who never says anything said spontaneously that this was very beautiful, and that only Matisse could make it."
As the original cut-out was the largest such work that he produced, Decoration Masques is also one of the largest lithographs in the Verve suite. The full plethora of Matisse's decorative effects plays out across several sheets of paper, proving that the composition doesn't need to be ten metres long to dazzle!
The lithographs are in stunning condition and are becoming extremely scarce.
Referenced in the Catalogue Raisonne: Duthuit 139. Freitag 6231
