This print was made shortly after Matisse's paintings caused a furore at the Salon d'Automne, Paris, in 1905. The largest and most arresting of three woodcuts by Matisse in the same period, it translates the vigour of his colourful Fauve period paintings into black and white. The block from which the image was printed consists of two thick, joined planks of fruit-wood, from which Matisse cut away the unwanted wood around the design with knives, chisels and gouges, leaving the stark lines, dashes and dots standing in relief. It is the only known surviving woodblock he cut. It was acquired by the art dealer Frank Perls from the French print publisher Ambroise Vollard, famous for his editions of fine prints by many leading artists. Throughout its history, woodcut has been a leading medium in mass communication, and this association, along with the direct simplicity woodcuts offer, led a number of artists to revive its use in the early 20th century. Matisse may also have been drawn to woodcut because of its affinities with sculpture, another medium in which he was experimenting at the same time.