HENRI MATISSE | Océanie, la mer

Screenprint on linen, 1946-48, signed in ink and numbered 20/30

Zika Ascher, London
On loan from the above to the Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1950-53
Private Collection, New York
By descent to the present owner

The work is in good condition. The colors are good and the linen is remarkably close to its original state. A few slight creases and an occasional small, inconspicuous spot of ink loss, visible on close inspection. Skillfully hemmed on each edge. The work is accompanied by a custom-built metal slat. A band of Velcro has been skillfully sewn along the upper edge of the linen on the reverse so that it can be mounted to the slat. For a detailed condition report, please contact the Print department.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Henri Matisse’s screenprint on linen wall-hanging Océanie, la mer along with its pendant panel, Océanie, le ciel, constitute a pivotal moment in the artist’s use of the cut-out during the last decade of his career. Based on two murals of white paper cut-outs pinned to the beige walls of his Paris apartment on the Boulevard Montparnasse during the summer of 1946 (fig. 1), the panels represent his first use of the cut-out to create works on a monumental scale and are the first works to draw directly on the memories of his 1930 voyage to Tahiti.Although the textile designer Zika Ascher had proposed a commission for a wall-hanging to Matisse early in 1946, the artist did not initially accept, and the compositions for the Océanie panels began organically, without a final product in mind.

“Matisse had cut out a swallow from a sheet of writing paper and, as it distressed him to tear up this beautiful shape and throw it away…he put it up on this wall, also using it to cover up a stain the sight of which disturbed him. Over the following weeks other shapes were cut out and put up on the same wall.” (Lydia Delectorskaya quoted in Samantha Friedman, “Game and Endgame” in Exh. Cat. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs, 2014, p. 126)

By the time Ascher visited Matisse in Paris that summer, the compositions of two distinct panels were complete, and Ascher was tasked with translating the delicate paper cut-outs into screenprint on linen wall-hangings. Developing the massive cut-out panels in screenprint to Matisse’s exacting specifications proved to be a technical challenge and the printed edition of thirty examples of each panel was not completed until 1948.