Lithograph on vélin pur fil paper. Paper Size: 12.875 x 9.625 inches. Excellent condition. Inscription: Signed in the plate and unnumbered, as issued. Notes: From the folio, Henri Matisse, Dessins, Thèmes et Variations, 1943. Published by Martin Fabiani, Éditeur, Paris; printed by Georges Duval, Paris, February 27, 1943. Excerpted from the folio (translated from French), Finished printing in Paris, on February 27, 1943, at the expense of Martin Fabiani, publisher, with the help of Roger Lacourière. Henri Matisse's "Themes and Variations" were reproduced by G. Duval and the preface of Aragon, printed by Fequet et Baudier. Justification of the draw—This folio has been printed in CML examples, all numbered, namely: X examples on Imperial Japan, numbered from I to X. Signed by the artist: XX examples on Vélin d'Arches, numbered from II to XXX, signed by the artist: CMXX examples on Vélin pur fil, numbered from XXXI to CML. HENRI MATISSE (1869-1954) One of the undisputed masters of 20th century art, was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter. Matisse is commonly regarded, along with Picasso and Marcel Duchamp, as one of the three artists who helped to define the revolutionary developments in the plastic arts in the opening decades of the 20th century, responsible for significant developments in painting and sculpture. Although he was initially labeled a Fauve (wild beast), by the 1920s he was increasingly hailed as an upholder of the classical tradition in French painting. His mastery of the expressive language of colour and drawing, displayed in a body of work spanning over a half-century, won him recognition as a leading figure in modern art.