Poster for an exhibition at Musée de Nice
Henri Matisse
French, 1869–1954
1950
A lithographic poster by Henri Matisse made to announce his 1950 exhibition in Nice, combining spare white-line drawings with bold typographic blocks to present paintings, drawings, sculpture, and tapestries.
A large black rectangular field at the top holds two minimal white-line figure drawings and looping scribbles, while the lower half balances the artist’s name in strong serif type with red and blue exhibition details, creating a calm, elegant play of negative space and color contrasts.
The poster crystallizes Matisse’s late interest in pared-down line and decorative rhythm and demonstrates how an artist’s visual language could directly transform modern graphic design and museum publicity after World War II.
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
29 1/4 × 20 1/2" (74.3 × 52.1 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Galerie Maeght
Accession
161.1952
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
