Poésies de Stéphane Mallarmé. [2], 153, [8] pp. Illustrated by Henri Matisse with 29 etchings printed in black. Small folio, bound in original printed wrappers, and housed in the original calf-backed chemise and slipcase. Lausanne: Albert Skira & Cie., 1932.
A superb copy of this masterpiece of twentieth century book illustration. The Matisse etchings for Mallarmé's Poésies are renowned for their delicate and simple design. "At the beginning of the decade, the etchings he made to illustrate an edition of Mallarmé's poems had an almost neoclassical quality to their elegant, filament-like lines -- a quality fully appropriate to the mythological themes of antiquity that they introduced into Matisse's art of this period" (Elderfield, Henri Matisse: A Retrospective, p. 357).
“We see a preliminary statement of how an illustration might be approached, and through progressive steps, guided by a technique to facilitate simplification, Matisse achieved a consummate balance between all the visual and textual elements that make the Mallermé a masterpiece.” (Bidwell, Graphic Passion, p. 40.)
This is considered "Skira's most beautiful book" (Castleman); it represents one of the snowy peaks of the twentieth-century livre d'artiste. This copy is one of 95 copies on velin paper, signed by Matisse, from a total edition of 145. A fine copy with some light wear to the delicate chemise and slipcase.
Duthuit 5. The Artist and the Book 196. From Manet to Hockney 95. A Century of Artists Books 92. Elderfield, Henri Matisse: A Retrospective 295-300. Andel, Avant Garde Page Design 449. Bidwell, Graphic Passion, p. 18-41.
