Henri Matisse – Masque Blanc sur Fond Noir

Masque Blanc sur Fond Noir (Duthuit 811)
Conceived 1949–50, printed 1966

• Artist: Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954)
• Medium: Aquatint on Rives wove paper
• Dimensions (plate): 317 × 249 mm (12 1/2 × 9 3/4 in)
• Dimensions (sheet): 550 × 375 mm (21 5/8 × 15 in)
• Edition: Edition of 25
• Numbering: Stamp-numbered 

Masque Blanc sur Fond Noir is an aquatint on Rives wove paper conceived by Henri Matisse in 1949–50 and printed in 1966, stamp-numbered from the edition of 25 and stamped with the artist's initials, catalogued as Duthuit 811. Presented as the full sheet and framed, with a fully documented provenance from the Morgan Collection in Australia, this work represents a rare and historically significant acquisition from one of the most important artists of the twentieth century.

Henri Matisse stands among the most celebrated, historically essential, and universally influential painters and printmakers of the modern era — a founding figure of Fauvism and a sustained, lifelong innovator across painting, sculpture, drawing, and printmaking whose engagement with color, line, and form fundamentally reshaped the trajectory of twentieth-century art. Conceived in 1949–50 — the period of his celebrated late cut-outs and his deepening engagement with radical formal simplification — and printed posthumously in 1966, Masque Blanc sur Fond Noir captures Matisse at the height of his preoccupation with the mask as a motif of formal reduction, expressive economy, and confrontation between presence and absence, light and dark.

The aquatint medium — with its capacity for rich, velvety tonal fields — allows the stark chromatic and formal opposition of the white mask against the black ground to achieve a particular density and visual power, the deep aquatint blacks giving the composition a dramatic intensity entirely consistent with Matisse's late preoccupation with elemental contrast and formal clarity. Printed on Rives wove paper — one of the most prestigious supports in fine art printmaking — and presented as the full sheet, the impression achieves a material and tonal quality of the highest order. Catalogued as Duthuit 811 in the definitive scholarly reference for Matisse's printed oeuvre, and coming from the Morgan Collection in Australia, this work carries a documentation and provenance of exceptional clarity and distinction.

The work is in very good condition.

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FAQ

Is this an original work by Henri Matisse?
Yes — an authentic aquatint conceived in 1949–50 and printed in 1966, stamp-numbered from the edition of 25, stamped with the artist's initials, catalogued as Duthuit 811.

What is the significance of the conception and printing dates?
The work was conceived by Matisse in 1949–50 and printed in 1966 — a practice not uncommon in his late printed oeuvre, in which compositions developed in his final, most radically simplified period were subsequently realized as editioned prints.

What is the Duthuit reference?
Duthuit 811 is the catalogue raisonné reference for this work — the definitive scholarly documentation of Matisse's printed oeuvre.

What is the provenance?
Property from the Morgan Collection, Australia — a fully documented and distinguished provenance.

What paper was used?
Rives wove paper — one of the most prestigious supports in fine art printmaking, prized for its surface quality and archival stability.

What are the dimensions?
Plate: 317 × 249 mm (12 1/2 × 9 3/4 in) — Sheet: 550 × 375 mm (21 5/8 × 15 in)

What is the edition size?
Edition of 25 — stamp-numbered and stamped with the artist's initials.

Is the work framed?
Yes — presented as the full sheet, framed.

What is the condition?
Very good condition. Full condition report available upon request.

Is this artwork a good investment?
Henri Matisse is one of the most consistently collected and institutionally significant artists in the history of the auction market. Aquatints from his late period, fully documented in the Duthuit catalogue raisonné with distinguished provenance, represent rare and compelling acquisitions for serious collectors.

Is worldwide shipping available?
Yes — secure worldwide shipping from France with professional packaging, tracking, and insurance.