Le Poème pulvérisé [The Scattered Poem].

one of the 65 deluxe copies with signed linocut

One of the 65 deluxe copies on Johannot wove, with the signed linocut by Matisse.

René Char approached Matisse in the spring of 1946 to create a frontispiece for this collection of poetry. The publisher initially misunderstood the nature of the illustration, but Matisse insisted that it would be an original engraving, not a reproduction: 'my intention is to show René Char more than a simple tribute'. The woman depicted by Matisse is that of Lucienne Bernard, widow of the poet Roger Bernard, to whom the author pays homage in the eleventh poem of the collection, entitled 'Affres, détonation, silence'.

Limited edition, one 65 copies on Johannot laid paper (this numbered xxxiii) with a linocut frontispiece, signed in pencil, 4to (26 x 19 cm); signed by René Char in blue in ink on the justification, partially uncut; original printed wrappers, with some striped age toning