Henri MATISSE (1869-1954) Vase of flowers, 1941 Indian ink. Signed and dated lower right. (Paper missing in a corner). 52 x 40 cm Provenance : Gaston Diehl Collection. Gift of the artist for the birth of his daughter Joëlle Diehl in 1945. We would like to thank Monsieur Georges Matisse for confirming the authenticity of this work and for the information he provided. In a letter sent by Gaston Diehl to Henri Matisse on December 16, 1945, the day his daughter Joëlle was born, he wrote the following request: "I would have wished, as a happy omen, for a drawing of my new child, to have been able to reproduce, on the birth announcement letter, some magnificent drawing by you" (Archives Matisse). On December 26, 1945, Henri Matisse wrote back:/"Dear Sir, I send you my congratulations and my best wishes for you and your family for the coming year./By this same letter I am sending a box containing the drawing you asked for, which I hope you will like./Please accept, Dear Sir, the expression of my best wishes. HENRI MATISSE" (INHA Archives). Gaston Diehl and his wife chose this work to illustrate their daughter Joëlle's birth announcement.