Demetrius Galanis Three-Quarters View (Demetrius Galanis de trois-quarts)

Demetrius Galanis Three-Quarters View (Demetrius Galanis de trois-quarts), created by Henri Matisse in 1915, is a compelling example of the artist's engagement with graphic arts during a period of formal transition. This French print is executed using a complex combination of drypoint and etching with chine collé. The sitter is Demetrius Galanis, a fellow Greek artist and friend who maintained close contact with Matisse in Paris during the turbulent years of World War I. This portrait firmly belongs within the intense experimental phase spanning 1915–16, where Matisse prioritized concise line work and structure over the coloristic explorations of his earlier Fauve period.

Matisse utilized drypoint to achieve the characteristic rich, velvety burr that catches the ink, providing the lines that define the contours of Galanis’s face and torso. The addition of etching allowed for deeper, more sustained lines that anchor the figure within the shallow pictorial space. The subtle technique of chine collé, where a thin, often differently toned paper is simultaneously adhered to the heavier sheet during the printing process, adds a quiet textural nuance to the background, distinguishing this specific impression. Matisse focuses tightly on the sitter's expression, employing sparse, highly decisive marks that underscore his increasing commitment to graphic clarity and formal severity.

Though perhaps best known for his revolutionary achievements in painting, Matisse produced a substantial and varied body of prints throughout his career, often using the medium as a rigorous laboratory for testing new compositional and linear ideas. This work showcases the artist's skill in transferring the immediacy of drawing into a reproducible format. The sophisticated French printmaking traditions of the early 20th century heavily influenced the development of works like this. Demetrius Galanis Three-Quarters View is currently held in the esteemed collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), where it remains a key artifact documenting Matisse’s critical graphic experimentation during the 1915–16 period.