These are words Matisse wrote to his friend and fellow
artist Pierre Bonnard describing his paper cut- out works.
Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was a prolific French artist whose
career spanned six decades. His body of
work includes beautiful paintings of figures, still lives and landscapes, best
known for their strong palette and varied textures. However Matisse considered his later
work--paper cut-outs- his life's masterpieces. These stunning large-scale paper
cut-outs were created, as Matisse called it by, “drawing with scissors.”
The Red Room by Matisse, 1908 (oil on canvas).
Currently on view at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in NewYork is the most comprehensive Matisse cut-out exhibition ever mounted. The show, which was on view at the Tate Modern in London, will be at MoMA until February 8, 2015, and is a must see for
anyone interested Matisse's later works.
The Horse, Rider and Clown by Matisse, 1943 (cut paper)
Matisse first use cut paper in his work creating the
Barnes mural for Dr. Albert Barnes’ famed Barnes Foundation in Merion,
Pennsylvania (now located in downtown Philadelphia).
The Dance Mural by Matisse, 1932-1933 (oil on Canvas), Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, PA
Henri Matisse used cut paper in the 1930s and early 1940s as
a compositional aid while working on paintings.
In Still Life with Shells
(1940) Matisse cut out the shape of the various objects in his composition and
used string to simulate the tabletop. This
allowed Matisse to move the elements around until he arrived at the desired
composition.
Still Life with Shells by Matisse, 1940 (oil on canvas)
In 1941, after recovering from abdominal surgery, Matisse
found easel painting too strenuous so he started experimenting with cutting
gouache painted paper into abstracted organic shapes. With the aid of several assistants Matisse
was able to “cut directly into color”. The paper cut outs were attached to the
studio walls using thumbtacks. Matisse
directed the lively compositions from his bed or wheelchair.
Matisse creating cut-outs in his studio, 1940s
The wall size “The Parakeet and the Mermaid” features
animated plants, pomegranates and other organic shapes including a blue
parakeet and mermaid. “I have made a
little garden all around me where I can walk. There are leaves, fruits and a
bird. I have become a parakeet and found myself in the work.”
The Parakeet and the Mermaid by Matisse, 1952, wall size paper cut-out mural
In 1948 Matisse
began work on a four year cut out project for the Chapel of the Rosary located
near his studio in Vence on the French Riveria.
Matisse’s extensive work for the chapel included radiant stained glass windows,
and expressive line drawings painted on tiles that dominate the chapel. Matisse also designed vestments and a
tabernacle for the chapel. “It is the result of
all my active life. Despite all its
imperfections, I consider it my masterpiece.”
The Chapel of the Rosary in Vence, France, by Matisse, 1948-1952
I highly recommend a visit to see this wonderful exhibition
of at MoMA! I also recommend the catalog,
Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs published
by the Museum of Modern Art . Another
book of interest on Matisse and his later works is Henri Matisse, Drawing with Scissors, Masterpieces from the Late Years
by Olivier Berggruen and Max Hollein, published by Prestel. For a book on Matisse’s masterpiece The Chapel
of the Rosary I recommend Matisse The
Chapel at Vence published in 2013 by the Royal Academy of Arts
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