Nus

Details

Henri Matisse (1869-1954)
Nus
signed 'Henri Matisse' (on the underside)
painted and glazed ceramic
Height: 20 7/8 in. (53 cm.)
Executed circa 1905-1906; this work is unique

Provenance

Morris J. Pinto, Geneva.
Anonymous sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 25 November 2003, lot 21.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.

Exhibited

Bielefeld, Kunsthalle, Henri Matisse, Das goldene Zeitalter, October - December 1981, no. 89.
Paris, Galerie Berggruen, Matisse, 1983, no. 4.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Between 1906 and 1908 a number of artists with the Galerie Ambroise Vollard, including Matisse, Derain, Dufy and Friesz, explored the possibilities inherent in ceramics at the studio of André Metthey (1871-1920) in Asnières. As was the case with illustrated books, this collaboration, made possible by the patronage of Vollard, bears witness to the creative experiments launched by this young generation of painters in search of new means of expression. In 1936 Vollard donated approximately fifty of these ceramics to the Musée du Petit Palais in Paris and today the vast majority of the remaining production is housed in the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.

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