"Are you a living princess or her shadow? Let me kiss your fingers and their rings, and bid you Walk no longer in an unknown age..." This anthology of poems by Mallarmé is Matisse's first illustrated book. It was commissioned in 1930 by Albert Skira who planned to produce a string of lavish limited-edition books illustrated by famous artists. The 29 etchings created by Matisse for this book may appear sketchy and simple, but they were meticulously crafted in scores of prparatory drawings. Matisse chose which poems would be illustrated and how the pages would be designed. His main concern was in balancing eh black lines of the etchings with the vast white of the page and the essential black of the opposing text. Matisse's drawings evoke much of the sensuality of Mallarmé's great Symbolist poetry without being traditional illustrations of the text.