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The Nightmare of the White Elephant, from Jazz

A work made of color pochoir with gouache on ivory wove paper.

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  • A work made of color pochoir with gouache on ivory wove paper.

Date:

1947

Artist:

Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954)
printed by Edmond Vairel (French, 20th century)
published by Tériade for Éditions Verve (French, 1943–1975)

About this artwork

Matisse’s assistant Lydia Delectorskaya recorded his descriptions of the various images. According to her notes, in The Nightmare of the White Elephant “the white elephant is performing its act standing on a ball, under dazzling circus lights, while memories of his native black forest assail him like red tongues of fire, with all the violence of arrows.”

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Henri Matisse

Title

The Nightmare of the White Elephant, from Jazz

Place

France (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Copyrighted 1947

Medium

Color pochoir with gouache on ivory wove paper

Dimensions

Sheet, folded: 42.1 × 32.7 cm (16 5/8 × 12 7/8 in.); Sheet, unfolded: 42.1 × 65.4 cm (16 5/8 × 25 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Simeon B. Williams Fund

Reference Number

1948.80.7

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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