Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was a fighting spirit.
As his final years approached, Matisse reveled in the simplicity and brilliance of these pieces, avowing, "
Only what I created after the illness constitutes my real self: free, liberated..."
In this essential introductory book, we revisit this joyful final chapter of Matisse's long and prodigious career, examining how the Cut-outs encapsulated the artist's many years exploring the possibilities of composition, form, and color..
As his work progressed, Matisse's excitement with his results fueled ever-larger pieces, advancing from small works to vast wall-sized murals.
In works such as Icarus (1943), The Blue Nude (1952), The Snail (1953), and The Sheaf (1953), clean forms and elemental structures power a compositional force that belies the work's decorative appeal, at once tightly organized and infectious with joie de vivre.
Emphasizing color and contrast, the cut-out technique generated both striking lines and vivid juxtapositions.
With what he called une seconde vie, a second life, he embarked on a remarkable collage period, cutting and pasting pieces of colored paper into gouaches decoupees of birds, plants, flowers, and the female form.
Despite a cancer diagnosis in 1941, increasing frailty, and the confines of a wheelchair, the indomitable Frenchman never stopped in his quest to make art.
Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was a fighting spirit
