Henri Matisse was a French artist known for his use of colour and his fluid, brilliant and original draughtsmanship. A master draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor, he is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.
Matisse was involved with printmaking for more than fifty years. From 1900 until his death in 1954 he completed more than eight hundred intaglios, lithographs, woodcuts, linoleum cuts and monotypes, working with particular intensity in 1906, 1914 and throughout the 1920s — in 1929 alone he made more than one hundred etchings and drypoints.
Unlike many artists who relied on master printers, Matisse worked from an etching press installed in his own studio, printing when and as he liked. This intimacy is visible in his choice of subjects — mostly portraits of friends, family and fellow artists, alongside images of female figures and nudes.
