The Snail poster by Henri Matisse

Oh, joy: late stage Matisse on a big, inspiring, colourful scale. 

The Snail is a major example of Matisse’s final ‘papiers decoupes’ (cut paper collages). Battling ill-health, the artist developed new working methods which catalysed a famous late artistic flourish.

The gouache papers were painted by his assistants, before being cut and torn into shapes by the artist. Matisse then instructed his assistants to pin the papers to the wall until he was happy with the composition, which echoes the spiral of a snail’s shell. It is said that a miniature snail silhouette can also be seen in the lilac piece, top left. Matisse completed 'The Snail' the year before he died. The original now lives at at the Tate Gallery in London - do seek it out if you're there, it will take your breath away - but this beautiful reproduction will  radiate the same extraordinary creativity on your own wall. 

Approximate dimensions: paper size 105 x 105cm; image size 100 x 100cm. Giclée print on 300gsm watercolour paper.