Two exceptional art publications captured the zeitgeist of modern art in Paris in the middle of the twentieth century. Derrière le Miroir ('Behind the Mirror') and Verve were both art magazines lovingly curated and issued by the Maeght family and Tériade, respectively. In addition to containing texts, articles and reviews by prominent and upcoming writers, Derrière le Miroir and Verve allowed for original lithographs created specifically for the publications by great masters of modern art like Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Alexander Calder and Marc Chagall to be seen by wide audiences and appreciated by thousands - both then and today. While these artists now seem like the most obvious guardians of the modernist aesthetic, when Derrière le Miroir and Verve were being published, the reputations of these men were still being built. A feature in one of these two magazines could tip the scales from obscurity to fame.
The lithographs from these magazines are snapshots of a vibrant printing and publication culture that is all but lost today. The insight that these works give us into the twentieth-century Parisian art world, the idyllic modernist culture that they represent, and their undeniable beauty are the reasons that the Derrière le Miroir and Verve lithographs are so desirable for collectors today.
