From the autumn of 1929 until 1934 Matisse all but abandoned painting. This period has been described as the flowering of his gifts as a draughtsman, and had an enormous influence on his later art. Turning to printmaking, Matisse made over a hundred works. Working purely with line, and in this controlled medium, allowed him to completely condense and refine the representation of what had become one of his classic themes, the single female figure. This search for simple but complete expression was described by the artist in an interview in 1929 in which he talked of his new and driving desire for ‘a certain formal perfection.’

Advisor | The Artists | The Movements