![Henri Matisse (1869-1954), ‘Duo des deux philosophes: à nos âges un seul verre de vin est suffisant et ne peut faire mal aux artères’ (‘Duo of the two philosophers: in our ages a single glass of wine is sufficient and cannot hurt the arteries’) [detail], drawing, ink on laid paper, signed and dated 27 June ‘10. Image © Maison de Ventes Guéry](https://images.prismic.io/barnebys/4a7906bc-d6e9-4fa2-b843-6d180c3047f7_Cover.jpg?auto=format,compress)
“I didn't really believe it,” recalls auctioneer Madeleine Guéry, of the auction house Maison de Vente Guéry in Rouen. Called upon to value the contents of a woman’s home following the death of the woman’s bargain-hunter husband, the expert hadn’t made any valuable discoveries when she was passed a drawing board. The owner stated that her husband had told her this board “contained good things”.
Hidden among a few worthless drawings, two designs from 1910, signed and dedicated to Dr Léon Vassaux from Henri Matisse, immediately caught the eye of the expert. Subjected to an in-depth expertise, the two sketches were not only authenticated, but the artist's grandson, George Matisse, also confirmed the bonds of friendship between the painter and Léon Vassaux. The two men clearly maintained a long and prosperous friendship as Matisse dedicated a book to him in 1937.
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Both sketches have a humorous element and reveal a hidden side of the artist. In one of the drawings, Matisse even attempted a self-portrait, giving the work an even greater personal dimension.
The owner's late husband had bought them at auction, in a lot containing a bookcase and said drawing board. According to his wife, he had identified the drawings as Matisse, but had not been able to have them authenticated by an expert.
They will be auctioned for the very first time at Maison de Vente Guéry on 13 December. “In general, an original drawing by Matisse sells for around €10,000. Nudes start at €30,000,” the auctioneer told the Paris-Normandy regional daily. For these two sketches, however, she wanted to set the low estimate at €3,000. The drawings suffered somewhat from the humidity, but as she confirms, a restoration is entirely possible.
