Original Lithograph on Arches paper
Part of the suite 'Dix Danseuses' (Ten Dancers)
Created in 1926/27
Image size: 17.25" x 10.85" (43.8 x 27.6)
Paper size: 19.3" x 12.8" (49 x 32.6 cm)
Hand signed in pencil and numbered lower left
Edition of 130
Reference: Claude Duthuit “Henri Matisse, Catalogue Raisonné de l’oeuvre gravé”, no. 480

The Ballets Russes, a traveling ballet company was founded in Paris by the Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev in 1909. Diaghilev approached Matisse in 1919, asking him to collaborate on the 1920 production of 'Le Chant du Rossignol' for the Paris Opera, written by Igor Stravinsky with choreography by Leonide Massine.
Matisse was initially hesitant, sensing the enormity of the task but then eventually agreed, declaring “But I’ll only do one ballet and it’ll be an experiment for me.” (this turned out not to be the case)
Matisse took daring, risky leaps into the unknown, exploring how his two-dimensional colours and patterns could come bursting into life on the stage. Later on Matisse wrote, “I learned what a stage set could be. I learned that you could think of it as a picture with colours that move.”

The Ballet showcased some of Matisse’s most experimental works, as set and costume designs. Many leading artists from that time, among them Picasso, were involved and collaborated with the Ballets Russes. Picasso even got married to a ballerina, Olga Khokhlova.

Certificate of Authenticity is included.

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