Original 1964 Lithograph "Les Oiseaux De Nuit" (Birds of the Night) by Georges Braque

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Original lithograph from "Prints from the Mourlot Press", a catalog of an exhibition sponsored by the French Embassy and circulated … Read more Original lithograph from "Prints from the Mourlot Press", a catalog of an exhibition sponsored by the French Embassy and circulated by the Traveling Exhibition Service of the National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, in 1964-65, with original lithographs by Chagall, Picasso, Miro, Beaudin, Esteve, Matisse, Guiramand, Florsheim, Cathelin, Brasilier, Brianchon, Cocteau, Minaux, Jenkins, Calder, Kito, Giacometti, and Manessier. Printed by the Mourlot Press, Paris, October 1964. Print size: 10 x 7-3/8 inches on Velin d’Arches paper. Verso titled. Mint condition new old stock from our complete copy of "Prints from the Mourlot Press". Colophon pages shown for provenance purposes and not included.

Per S. Dillon Ripley, Secretary, Smithsonian Institute:

“Fernand Mourlot has long been the acknowledged master printer of France in every field, from lithographs to fine books to posters. The unfailing quality of his work commands the respect of museums, collectors, and most important of all, the artists themselves. Every product of his workshop bears the mark of Mourlot’s discipline and craft and can truly be called an ideal collaboration between artist and artisan... The result of years of thoughtful planning, this special exhibition presents an accurate portrait of the Mourlot Press. We are greatly indebted to Fernand Mourlot, who made the selection, supervised the production of the catalogue, and gave endless time and energy to the details of preparation.”

Georges Braque (1882-1963), originally trained to be a house painter and decorator like his father. However, he also studied painting at the École des Beaux-Arts. His earliest works were impressionistic, but after seeing the work exhibited by the Fauves in 1905, Braque adopted a Fauvist style. The Fauves, a group that included Henri Matisse and André Derain among others, used more brilliant colors and a more abstract structure. Braque's style began an evolution first influenced by Paul Cézanne. Beginning in 1909, Braque began to work closely with Pablo Picasso, who had been developing a similar approach to oil painting. At the time Pablo Picasso was influenced by Gauguin, Cézanne, African tribal masks and Iberian sculpture, while Braque was still interested in developing Cézanne's ideas about perspective. The result of this collaboration was the invention of Cubism, with French art critic Louis Vauxcelles first using the term Cubism, or "bizarre cubiques", after seeing a painting by Braque. Braque was severely wounded in World War I, but recovered and worked throughout the remainder of his life, producing a large number of distinguished oil paintings, lithographs, and sculptures. See less