ALS in French, signed “H. Matisse,” one page, 8.25 x 10.5, no date. Fantastic letter boasting an outstanding original ballpoint sketch of a person wearing a crown. In full (roughly translated): "Happy father and mother of this beautiful child! Thank you for thinking in showing to us this masterpiece. All goes well here, good health, the chapel goes well too. I give up wanting to understand people." In fine condition, with intersecting folds and a few trivial edge tears.
It seems that the letter is to his son, Pierre, and refers to the birth of one of Matisse's grandchildren. He references his important chapel project, the Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence, which he designed using his famed cut-out method. This is just the third Matisse sketch we have ever offered, and it is an outstanding example in his unmistakable modernist style—a simplistic yet elegant line drawing that utilizes some of the shapes common in his work. The same contours he uses in this crown can been seen repeated in the stained glass designs of the chapel, which Matisse regarded as his masterpiece. A truly spectacular piece by one of the leading artists of the 20th century.
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