The Jazz Series: Icare

This 2nd edition of the rare and unusual lithography series of Jazz was authorized for publication in 1983 by the Estate of Matisse. Great care was taken by the MOMA in NY and the publisher to create a rendering of the Jazz edition of 1947 using the finest printing techniques with the original plates and stencils at their disposal. This was made possible by the use of #43/250 belonging to Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich. Jazz is one of the most important series of illustrations of the 20th century. The iconography of the circus and music hall which dominates a majority of its twenty plates had not been used previously by Matisse. The original creation of the plates started with gouache drawings that were made into pochoirs.