Etude pour la Vierge, Tête voilée
Etude pour la Vierge, Tête voilée, ca. 1950, Lithograph
Henri Matisse (French, 1869 – 1954)
#2013.0003.0001
Born in France in 1869, Henri Matisse was a painter, printmaker, draftsman, and sculptor, and is celebrated for his use of color and dynamic forms. While his subject matter was often traditional—nudes, portraits, domestic scenes, and country landscapes—his use of bright colors and exaggerated, fluid forms was revolutionary.
This lithograph, printed c. 1950 on paper, stands in contrast to Matisse’s better known color portraits. Unlike some of his more famous paintings, this print uses just a few black lines to give life to the woman Matisse depicts. Even here there is movement, from the curve of the woman’s neck to the corner of her mouth and narrow ringlets of hair just grazing her arched collar bones.
