019 - Jeune Hindoue (Duthuit 508), 1929

"Jeune Hindoue" is a lithograph created by Henri Matisse in 1929. From the edition of 71, the artwork is signed signed 'Henri Matisse' and annotated lower right. The artwork is framed in a custom, closed corner, gold leaf frame and has a framed size of 24.75 x 29". The artwork ships framed and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

Henri Matisse stands among the central figures of modern art. As leader of Fauvism and a relentless innovator, he transformed the expressive potential of color, line, and form. Across his career, he pursued clarity through reduction, distilling subjects into compositions defined by balance, rhythm, and emotional intensity.

Although celebrated primarily for painting, Matisse was also an accomplished printmaker. In lithography especially, he demonstrated how black and white alone could convey volume, sensuality, and atmosphere. His prints from the 1920s and 1930s are prized for their elegant economy of line and psychological immediacy. With minimal means, he achieved a remarkable sense of presence, reinforcing drawing as the foundation of his practice.

Executed in 1929 and catalogued as Duthuit 508, “Jeune Hindoue” is a distinguished example of Matisse’s late 1920s lithographic portraiture. The composition presents a reclining nude adorned with jewelry and a veil, seated within a Moorish inspired chair. The work reflects Matisse’s sustained engagement with non-Western art, particularly following his travels to Morocco in 1912 and 1913. Rather than depicting a specific cultural identity, he evokes an atmosphere shaped by ornament, pattern, and pose.

The lithograph is defined by fluid contour and compositional harmony. The arabesque curves of the chair echo the suppleness of the figure, while subtle contrasts of light and dark model the body with restraint. Jewelry and drapery are rendered with deliberate simplicity, allowing the essential rhythm of line to dominate. The result is intimate rather than theatrical, emphasizing quiet sensuality over spectacle.

The reclining nude recalls Matisse’s broader odalisque imagery, yet in this graphic medium the mood is contemplative and contained. Ornament becomes structure, and decorative detail serves compositional balance. The print reveals not fantasy, but formal inquiry, an exploration of how figure and pattern coexist within a unified space.

“Jeune Hindoue (D.508), 1929” exemplifies Matisse’s mastery of lithography and his ability to synthesize cross cultural references into a refined modern vision. Both decorative and introspective, it reflects the assured hand of an artist at the height of his powers.