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Creator Name: Matisse, Henri
Creator Nationality: European; French
Creator Role: Artist
Creator Dates/Places: 1869 - 1954
Gender: M
Creator Birth Place: Le Cateau-Cambrésis
Creator Death Place: Nice
Creator Name-CRT: Henri Matisse
Title: Le Grand Bois
Title Type: Foreign
Title: The Large Woodcut
Title Type: Primary
View: Full View
Creation Start Date: 1906
Creation End Date: 1906
Creation Date: 1906
Object Type: Prints
Classification Term: Print
Materials and Techniques: woodcut
Dimensions: Sheet: 57.2cm x 45.5cm, Image: 44.7cm x 38.6cm
Inscriptions: signed and numbered in black ink, below image: 39/ 50
AMICA Contributor: The Cleveland Museum of Art
Owner Location: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
ID Number: 2001.37
Credit Line: Gift of various donors to the department of Prints and Drawings
Copyright: ? Succession H. Matisse, Paris / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Rights: http://www.arsny.com
Context:

A brilliant colorist when he painted, Matisse was also one of the most skillful draftsmen of the 20th century. During the winter of 1905-6, he produced a series of black ink figure drawings of unusual strength and energy. Freely executed, they convey expressive power and emphasize contour, which Matisse felt was the most important element in a drawing. He observed, "If one thoroughly understands an object, it may be described by only an outline." An avid printmaker, Matisse translated three of these drawings into woodcuts in 1906.

The Large Woodcut is considered the most important of these prints. Here model and background are rendered with the same dynamic strokes so that the flattened figure is part of an overall ornamental pattern that extends to the boundaries of the design. The large white area of the body, outlined by firm, heavy contours, contains only a few blunt lines to suggest a minimum of modeling. The figure, boldly distorted, is activated by a series of staccato marks and pulsating curves that swell outward toward the left corner. The prominently patterned background of dots and vigorous rhythmic lines reflects Matisse's fascination with the drawings of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), which had been exhibited in Paris in 1905.


AMICA ID: CMA_.2001.37
AMICA Library Year: 2002
Media Metadata Rights: Copyright, The Cleveland Museum of Art

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