¤ HENRI MATISSE (1869-1954) BOUQUET DE FLEURS AUX ANÉMONES, 1944 India ink on paper Signed and dated "3/44" lower left India Ink on paper; signed and dated "3/44" lower left 52,5 X 40 CM - 20 5/8 X 15 3/4 IN. Monsieur Georges Matisse has confirmed the authenticity of this work. A certificate can be obtained on request. PROVENANCE Private collection, France. By descent to the present owner. In recent years, institutions have shown increasing interest in Matisse's drawings. In 1975, the first Henri Matisse retrospective was held in Paris. Dessins et sculptures (Drawings and Sculptures), which marked the main milestones in Matisse's career in drawing. Since then, several international exhibitions have followed, characterizing his work as an "inner laboratory". Between June 1943 and 1949, Matisse lived and worked in the villa "Le Rêve" in Vence. Although deeply disturbed by the war, there is no sign of anxiety in his work. However, the artist is short of materials. He wrote to his son: "No more canvases, no more colors! The amateur painter has taken everything before the artist has even had time to think about it" (letter to Pierre Matisse, September 18, Nice, 1940). The conditions did not prevent him from working, however, and he began an abundant output of drawings that culminated in the publication of Dessins: thèmes et variations, by Editions Fabiani in 1943. The book contains 17 series of drawings identified by the letters A to P, with series N bis dedicated to anemones. Anemones were Matisse's favorite flowers in the 1920s, appearing in many of his paintings: Anémones au miroir noir, 1919; Anémones et vase chinois, 1922; Anémones dans un vase en terre, 1924. Pierre Schneider refers to the "anemonism" of this period (Pierre Schneider, Matisse, Paris, Flammarion, 1984, p. 513).