Henri Matisse: The Cut Outs at the Museum of Modern Art in New York

 “Instead of drawing and then applying color, I draw directly with the color.”

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

Gustave Moreau Home and Studio in Paris

 In March I had the occasion to visit the home and studio of French Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau (1826-1898), now the Gustave Moreau National Museum and open to the public. Located in the 9^th arrondissement of Paris, on a residential street, is this wondrous artists’ home. 

                                         Interior of Gustave Moreau's home

Gustave Moreau lived and worked in this beautiful setting from 1852, until his death in 1898. The living quarters are small and lavishly decorated with artwork, fine furniture and ceramics. 

                                             View of the second floor studio

To visit the studio, located on the second and third floors, is to be transported to Moreau’s world.  The space is large and well lit by large windows and ample wall space for the numerous large-scale works. Moreau’s thousands of framed drawings are handsomely preserved throughout the studio in flat files and in cases behind drapes (to keep them from direct light exposure.)

                 Spiral staircase that leads to the third floor studio and exhibition space.

Gustave Moreau was a most prolific artist creating an estimated 10,000 paintings drawings, sculptures and watercolors. His focus was large-scale biblical and mythological scenes.  His studio is a treasure trove of drawings, preparatory sketches and sculptures made in planning his paintings.  These preparatory objects offer insight into Moreau’s process. 

                 Horse sculptures by Moreau, created as studies for his paintings.

While studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts Moreau was influenced by master painters such as Michelangelo and Rembrandt as well as ancient and medieval art.  He would go on to have an effect on the work of Matisse and the Fauves, as well as the surrealists and even the abstract expressionists.

                   "Jupiter and Semele", 1895, oil painting by Gustave Moreau.

While still in his thirties Moreau wrote, “I think of my death and the fate of all these works and compositions I have taken such trouble to collect.  Separately they will perish, but taken as a whole they give an idea of what kind of an artist I was and in what kind of surroundings I chose to live my dreams.”

                                  Third floor studio and exhibition space.

Moreau’s home opened to the public in 1903.  I highly recommend a trip to this fascinating collection.  I also recommend two books that contain chapters about the museum and collection.  “Artists in Residence” by Dana Micucci, this amazing book has inspired me to visit many artists’ homes,  in including those of Delacroix, Bonheur, Daubigny, Van Gogh and Monet. The book “Artists Houses” by Gerard-Georges Lemaire is also fascinating.

 All photographs by Marie Dauenheimer.

"Matisse, In Search of True Painting” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

In 1949 art critic Clement Greenberg wrote of Matisse “A self assured master who can no more help painting well than breathing.”  Indeed when I look at Matisse’s paintings they show a confidence and bravado in the brushwork, colorful palette and composition.  It was surprising to learn that painting never came easy to Matisse who "reworked, questioned and repainted".

                Still Life with Compote, Apples and Oranges by Henri Matisse, 1899

The exhibition “Matisse: in Search of True Painting”, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art , explores how Matisse used his canvasses as tools, repeating compositions in order to "compare effect, gauge his progress" and “push further and deeper into true painting.”

By creating multiple paintings of the same subject matter Matisse experimented with different techniques to explore the subject.  He often copied the same image over and over varying the treatment of the canvas and handling of the paint.

In his series of paintings of the “Young Sailor” Matisse used graphite pencil to block in the figure, he followed with black paint to re-inforece the outline.  His final step was to use vivid paint, allowing it to drip and run, to emphasize the two dimensional aspect of the surface. 

                                     Young Sailor I by Henri Matisse, 1906

                                      Young Sailor II by Henri Matisse, 1906

A series of three canvasses of “Le Luxe” dominate the exhibition.  Influenced by Ingres and Cezanne, Matisse sought to convey the essential qualities of his figures.  Using various materials, such as charcoal, distemper (a water based medium with a matte surface like fresco) and oil, Matisse created a dramatic series of figure studies that work independently, but when together create a powerful series that echo the forms of the figures.

Three versions of Le Luxe by Henri Matisse, the first using charcoal, the second in oil and third using distemper, 1907-08

Another series of paintings by Matisse, highlighted in the exhibition, are of Notre Dame.  They are based on the view from his Paris apartment. “I never tire of it, for me it is always new”.  The series, as you can see moves from a traditional view of the cathedral to one that becomes more abstract.  These later paintings giving way and influencing a new generation of artists seeking “true painting”.

                                         Notre Dame by Henri Matisse, 1900

Notre Dame by Henri Matisse , 1941

                                        Notre Dame by Henri Matisse, 1914

I highly recommend this exhibition which is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through March 17, 2013.  I also recommend the catalog edited by Dorthe Aagesen and Rebecca Rabinow.