Original Henri Matisse Poster Sculptures Nice Cimiez, 1954 - Mourlot

This is an original lithographic poster created in 1954 by Henri Matisse and printed by Mourlot Frères for an exhibition of sculptures at the Musée Matisse in Nice-Cimiez — one of the last posters produced during Matisse's lifetime, as he passed away in November of that same year. The Musée Matisse, nestled in the hills above Nice in the ancient Cimiez district where Matisse had lived and worked for decades, was his home institution — the place that understood his work most intimately and held his legacy most closely.

Henri Matisse (1869–1954) is today remembered above all as a painter and creator of cut-outs, but his sculptural work — over sixty bronzes produced across fifty years — represents one of the great parallel bodies of work in 20th-century art. Deeply influenced by Rodin and Cézanne, his sculptures share the same obsessions as his paintings: the human figure, the interplay of mass and space, the reduction of form to its essential gesture. An exhibition dedicated to this lesser-known dimension of his genius, in his own museum, in his own city, in the final year of his life — this poster marks a singular moment.

Mourlot Frères was the natural printer for Matisse's late work. Their collaboration produced some of the most refined printed works of the 20th century, with Mourlot's craftsmen translating Matisse's extraordinary economy of line into ink and paper with absolute fidelity. This poster is a testament to that partnership at its most accomplished.

The poster is in overall good condition — grade A- — and is presented unframed, ready for the wall it deserves.

A deeply personal piece — Matisse's final year, his own museum, his most intimate city, printed by the only atelier that knew his line.