Book Description

Henri Matisse's ancestors had been weavers for generations: textiles, a key to his visual imagination, were in his blood. Although he was to outgrow every other influence, textiles retained their power for him throughout his life. His studio in Nice was a treasure house of exotic Persian carpets, delicate Arab embroideries, richly hued African wall hangings, and any number of colorful cushions, curtains, costumes, patterned screens, and backcloths.

This sumptuously illustrated book, which accompanies a groundbreaking exhibition at the Musée Matisse, Le Cateau-Cambrésis; the Royal Academy of Arts, London; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, explores for the first time Matisse's relationship with the textiles that surrounded him from his earliest days. Charting how the fabrics he painted became the very fabric of his painting, the authors examine the ways in which one of the greatest pioneers in modern art history used what he called his "working library" of textiles to furnish, order, and compose his extraordinary works of art. AUTHOR BIO: Ann Dumas is an independent exhibition curator. Jack Flam is professor of art and art history at Brooklyn College and New York University's Institute of Fine Arts. Rémi Labrusse is professor of contemporary art history at the Université de Picardie, Amiens. Hilary Spurling is working on the second volume of a biography of Matisse. Dominique Szymusiak is director of the Musée Matisse, Le Cateau-Cambrésis. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Breathtaking paintings, sketches, and art objects
The collaborative publishing project of art historians and expeters Ann Dumas, Jack Flam, Remi Labrusse, and Hilary Spurling, Matisse: His Art And His Textiles is a stunning, full-color artbook showcasing how Henri Matisse, an artist descended from weavers, was influenced by his personal collection of vivid textiles - Persian carpets, Arab embroideries, African wall hangings, cushions, curtains, patterned screens, backcloths and more. Over 100 of Matisse's artworks along with numerous colorful fabrics, displayed as the catalogue of an exhibition at the Musee Matisse, the Royal Academy of Arts in London, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The text explores the connection that Matisse had to beautiful textile works, though the latter half of Matisse: His Art And His Textiles is devoted entirely to breathtaking paintings, sketches, and art objects. An enthusiastically recommended addition to library collections and art shelves.

GLORIOUS ILLUSTRATIONS AND EXCELLENT SCHOLARSHIP

What does the name "Matisse" bring to mind?For most, it would probably be the fact that he was a great artist, perhaps some would think of his use of color, the Fauvist movement, or perhaps his cut-outs, works that marked his late career.Textiles, fabrics would probably notcome to many minds.Now, this sumptuous volume published to accompany an exhibit that traveled to France, Britain, and New York sheds light on how very important these elements were to Matisse personally and to his oeuvre.

Matisse's unique visionwas astounding.In addition to his paintings, he sculpted, illustrated books, and designed sets for Diaghilev.Born in the north of France, which is the core of that country's textile industry, Matisse was exposed early on to the beauty of fabrics.. For many generations his family had been weavers, perhaps his love of textiles came to him naturally.It's been said that he was particularly attracted to Islamic art, the intricate patterns and colors that arrested the eye.What is known is that his Nice studio held a veritable trove of exotic carpets, embroideries, wall hangings, and all manner of brilliantly colored cushions and curtains.

His use of textiles is evident in his paintings in which he uses fabric as a backdrop or simply to drape a model.It was, indeed, part and parcel of his art.Consider the use of fabric in his "Purple Robe and Anemones" - there is, of course, the purple striped robe worn by his model but also the two wall coverings in golds, red, blue.Amazing.Or, consider his "Interior, Flowers, and Parakeets," in which we find the table covered by a colorful, intricately patterned runner above a diamond patterned ruby rug.

Many of the fabrics on display in the exhibit and brought to vibrant life in this marvelous volume have been stored away since Matisse's death in 1954."Matisse, His Art, and His Textiles, " in addition to being superbly illustrated, explores the relationship of Matisse'sfabrics to his paintings, and thus adds considerably to our knowledge and appreciation of one of the forerunners of modern art.

- Gail Cooke
... Read more

Book Description

Focusing on the period 1905-1913, this provocative and groundbreaking new book refutes the popular view of Matisse as the painter of relaxed pleasures, the master of decorative line and sensuous color. Alastair Wright discovers a darker, more complex side to Matisse: an artist whose work, caught in the uneasy space between modernism and tradition, was fundamentally engaged with the most pressing of modernity's artistic and ideological debates. Presenting a series of brilliant and highly original analyses of Matisse's most important early paintings, Wright locates the artist within a wider cultural field in which the identities of modernism--and of its viewers--were highly contested. Wright offers a penetrating examination of the public response to Matisse's work, arguing that his early-twentieth-century audience found in his painting a deeply disturbing challenge to contemporary concepts of the self, of the nation, and of the West.

This sumptuously illustrated book positions the work of Matisse and a number of his contemporaries in relation to key aspects of modernity--the commodification of the individual, the dislocation of cultural identity, and the effacement of racial boundaries under the pressure of imperial expansion--and provides a compelling account of how these contradictory historical materials fused to give birth to Matisse's modernism. What emerges is a renewed sense of the rich complexity of an artistic practice suspended between the seductive potential of pure color and an always ambivalent engagement with tradition. Tracing the interplay between Matisse's painting and discourses of art and subjectivity, Wright offers a significant new reading of one of the central figures of early-twentieth-century modernism.

... Read more

Book Description

"...to devote my life to the essential thing-- the thing for which I am made and which can bring a little happiness to the great family, the greatest spiritual family."--Matisse to André Rouveyre, September 4, 1942

Of all the artists of this century, Henri Matisse is one of the greatest and most beloved. His influence on modern art, both during his lifetime and today, has never stopped growing; in the eyes of the world, he is the French painter par excellence.

Henri Matisse is all the more cherished because his work celebrates the positive aspects of life, as evidenced by the titles of many of his major paintings: Luxe, Calme et Volupté, La Joie de Vivre, La Danse, Musique, to mention but a few. His explosions and juxtapositions of color and pattern inspire pure delight in the beholder, and his mastery of line, volume, and form are perhaps unequaled in the art of our time. The vitality, energy, and life-enhancing qualities that radiate from his art represent distillation of all that is affirmative in the human condition and are given immortality through that rare and indefinable quality known as genius.

The art of Matisse describes a trajectory leading from realism to abstraction, from darkness to light, from the cold of the north to the heat of the south, a route marked off by such revolutionary innovations as the burst of color found in Fauvism or the invention of his cut-outs. Matisse was still creating at a time in his life when many artists are content to rest on their laurels.

Since its original publication in 1984, this book by Pierre Schneider stands alone as the bible on the art of Matisse. The author spent fourteen years amassing a prodigious amount of information on the artist, and includes his own personal and original views on the work. Including over nine hundred illustrations, this is the most substantial reference of the works of Matisse ever published.

The reader will discover Matisse watercolorist, draftsman, ceramist, and the architect-- and unquestionably one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.
... Read more

Reviews (2)

Nicely written but not exactly what I wanted
This book is a nice overview of the work and life of Matisse. There are many beautiful and brilliantly described colorplates. It is a complete overview of his work. It also makes a beautiful coffee table piece that may inspire conversation.

I reasoned that because the author choose to feature a later piece by Matisse on the cover the book might emphasize his later work. But when I got the book his later work was only briefly talked about and only 2 of the colorplates were after 1940s.

Overall it is a nice book to get a sense of Matisse, his work and his life.

The Bible On Matisse
I noticed that this is coming back into print in November 2002, so I figured I'd write this review. If you are a fan of Matisse, you should snap up this book. It is an awesome achievement by Mr. Schneider. There is a tremendous amount of biographical data here, as well as a wealth of reproductions- both color and black and white. One caveat, though. This is definitely not for the casual reader! There is a lot of detailed analysis of the paintings included- such things as Matisse's theories on the use of color and shape; the tremendous amount of work and thought that went into each work in order to create color harmony and a balance of all the pictorial elements, etc. Mr. Schneider respects the reader, so some of this stuff can be a real challenge! But I found it very worthwhile! Matisse's paintings are deceptive, at least to the layperson. They seem soothing and simple. Well, I can promise you that after reading this wonderful book you may still find the paintings soothing, but when you realize what went into the process of creating them you will never again think of them as being simple! This is one of those rare books that opens your eyes and makes you look at something in a completely new way.Reviewer Note: Please be aware that the book I am reviewing is the over 700 page book written by Pierre Schneider, NOT the much shorter book written by Mr. Jacobus and only translated by Mr. Schneider! ... Read more

Amazon.com

"Matisse was born in 1869 in northern France and grew up in Bohain-en-Vermandois, near the Belgian border, on the drab, cold, wet beet fields of French Flanders. The same area, culturally and geographically speaking, had produced Vincent van Gogh sixteen years before." Thus begins the first full biography of an artist who, more than any other, is associated with Mediterranean heat, brilliant color and light, and languid, luxurious interiors. As author Hilary Spurling points out, an open window is one of Matisse's frequent motifs. Given the climate of his youth, that image speaks more of escape than of the sea air of the French Riviera.

If all biographers wrote with Spurling's warmth, empathy, and intelligence, no one would likely want to read any other kind of book. The Unknown Matisse is thoroughly researched, with pages devoted to minutiae that Spurling imparts with wit and style, making every nuance of Matisse's early development fascinating. She tells too the story of Matisse's family life (Mme. Matisse risked her respectable reputation by adopting Henri's first, illegitimate daughter), his brilliant ideas about art, and the years it took for his paintings to find their rightful audience. It was her intention finally to give as much weight to Matisse's life as has been given to his work, but in the process of examining the man she sheds new light on the art as well. --Peggy Moorman ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Meet Matisse and Enter His Landscape for Reading Pleasure
Henri Matisse (1869-1954) came from the somber northern region of France.The landscape of his youth was sketched in the somber colors of a provinical childhood.His family were seed merchants, sober and no nonsense in their approach to the realities of life.As Matisse grew his art expanded as he journeyed to Paris and to the South of France where he discovered the glories of coloration in his art.Matisse was the greatest of the Fauvist painters; the chief rival of Picasso and the grand old man of French painting.
In this first volume of her life of Matisse, Hilary Spurling the British born biographer draws France in the dawn of the 20th
century as we see Matisse struggle from poverty to stability. He was supported by a loving wife, good friends and a genius which
burst forth in all its glory as the great master continue to grow in his art.
The book is well illustrated, detailed in its description of Matisse's families, friends and opponents and well worth the reader's time.
With the current exhibition of Matisse-Picasso at the Metropolitan Museum of Mordern Art it is a pleasure to turn to Spurling's fine volume on Matisse to gain further insights into this giant of modern art.I recommend this book to everyone from art expert to the educated general reader seeking further insights into the evolution of a painter of genius.

Matisse's Colors
This is a genuinely inspiring biography, clearly written and deeply felt, powerfully communicating the revolutionary ideas of what painting could and should be that drove, and were driven by, Henri Matisse. Spurling vividly describes Matisse's struggles to balance his need to paint with financial reality and his society's disdain, often using the artist's own letters and recollections to depict his growing obsession with color and impatience with representation.

Although I eagerly await the second volume, the true measure of Spurling's success is my anticipation in revisiting Matisse's paintings -- my enjoyment of his work has been increased immeasurably by reading this book.

A wonderful artist biography
I read this book last year and have been anxiously awaiting the next volume.A marvelous examination of Matisse's start, the development of his passion for art and the complex personal life that made the journey extraordinary and, at the same time, ordinary.The images of his parents, their scandalous employers, his wife, his children, and his remarkable artistic peers remain very vivid for me, as each are really intriguing in and of themselves. Spurling is enormously engaging as a writer, and this book takes you to France at the turn of the 20th century and present time and place in a way that stays with the reader.It's a fantastic work.

Length is not necessarily Depth
The narrative quality, even of a historical biography, is what keeps us reading. Only so many details can be digested before the reader bloats and stalls out in his efforts to follow the story the writer is trying to tell us. Ms. Spurling, from her style, apparently comes from an academic background, for this book is written seemingly in the fear some expert will come along and point out an omitted detail. To her credit, I found none. But neither did I find a tremendous critical faculty for weeding out the mundane from the significant. I am generally opposed to abridgements, but the tedium in this book would greatly benefit from that process. Much as I love Matisse, I am not that interested in what he had for breakfast.

Best art biography I've read
What a book. Spurling writes a complete biography of Matisse, looking not just at his art and artisitc influences but at his entire life. Unlike Richardson in his biographies of Picasso, Spurling never stoops tocheerleading or excuse-making. (However, seeing as Spurling's book waswritten years after Richardson's first two Picasso volumes, I can't helpbut wonder how the two writers portray the Steins so differently. I wishSpurling had been willing to take on Richardson a bit more directly.)Instead she explains and enlightens. The pace of the text is perfect. Ofparticular fascination is Spurling's accounts of Matisse's artisticbreakthrough, starting in the Fauve summer in 1905. This book is exciting,breath-taking, insightful and I can't wait for volume two. Quite possiblythe best book I read in 1999. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Possibly the most beautiful book of the 20th Century
Like the style of music for which it is named, Henri Matisse's "Jazz" moves in unexpected rhythms. His first major project in the unique cut-out medium, the book was originally published in a very limited edition. This 1985 edition brings a true work of art to a mass public. "Jazz" is a book all book lovers should own, because it forces you to become more aware of the sheer visual pleasure provided by reading. Matisse's calligraphic text can be appreciated for its beauty by those who do not read French (a translation of the text is provided at the front of the edition), and its cool black-and-white austerity rests the eye from the dazzle provided by the amazing plates. Matisse's colors are so bright they burn themselves onto your retina! Do not resist them, for they will transport you into a world where pure forms float in a limitless space, a world simultaneously serene and vivid. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Matisse Opens the Way
If you want to extend the boundaries of ordinary perception, in order to produce unique, distinctive visions read "Matisse on Art." It is a critical piece of literature written by a masterfully innovative painter. I recommend it as a professional artist for nearly 20 years and as an art professor.

not looking but listening
Painters are often their own worst enemies when speaking about their work, obscuring rather than enlightening. But not Matisse. The intelligent and painter knew the trap that speaking of his art could be, yet his own comments on it are intelligent and illuminating. This book is fine reading that's a help to the working painter, as well as the viewer. You'll look at Matisse's great paintings with a fresh eye after reading it. And that's what matters.

A very interesting book.
Here are compiled the writings of and interviews with Matísse. It is not only about his estethic concerns but also about his feeling for life. The latter was his underlying motif in his paintings. This book is very interesting also for people without artistic concerns since Matísse here conveys his fine-tuned philosophy of life. A highly rewarding book that one can return to many times.

Mats Winther ... Read more

Book Description

Henri Matisse started a revolution in art by painting with hues that were heightened, saturated, unrealistic. He believed that color could not only describe objects, but also express emotions. Paired with flat abstraction and vigorous brush strokes, the style shocked the Paris art world of his time, and critics dubbed it the work of fauves (wild beasts). The Portable Matisse spans the entire career of this artist, now one of the most beloved of the twentieth century, from the joyful paintings to the stylized collages. This compact and comprehensive volume includes more than 400 illustrations and an introduction by renowned Time magazine art critic Robert Hughes. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

400 masterworks of art
If you ask who the greatest artists that lived are, you are going to hear Leonardo, Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Picasso, and of course, Matisse. Whether he was painting, drawing, or making a collage, Matisse's work will strike you--move you. And this edition is a nice, inexpensive collection of one of the master's works. There's an informative, well-written introduction and then there are 400 pieces of his art. The reproductions of Matisse's works are pretty good (though some span two pages, which always irritates me since you miss so much in the fold) and this isn't some giant tomb. It's a smallish paperback book you can carry with you on the bus or train or anywhere you wish to look at Matisse's work--even at a Picasso exhibition... ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An essential sourcebook
This oversized volume documents a retrospective exhibition devoted to Matisse which was held at the Museum of Modern Art in late 1992 and early 1993. The largest Matisse exhibition ever staged, it is unlikely that this massive curatorial event will ever be repeated. For devotees of Matisse, this book is an essential addition to your library, although there is little here that has not been previously published and discussed many times in earlier exhibitions. I think this book is more useful for those individuals who have just been introduced to this artist's work - it is a marvelous one-volume survey, clearly organized into seven chronological sections covering the entirety of Matisse's life, and showcasing his finest pictures. For those readers looking for more than just reproductions, however, the book is less satisfying. Elderfield's introductory essay is virtually incomprehensible for anyone who isn't already familiar with the matisse literature, and is poorly coordinated with the catalogue itself - there is no discussion of the individual paintings actually in the exhibition, or their interrelationships. The chronology of the artist's life is useful, but no more than bare bones history. This book is chiefly a visual pleasure and a fine document of a great exhibition. However, having seen the exhibition myself, I must inform the reader that many of the photographs in the book were received from non-MOMA sources, and there are variations in quality among the images. The bulk of the reproductions are just too dark, lending Matisse's pictures a muddy look that they do not possess in reality. I wish someone had bothered to compare the photos to the paintings before they sent the book to press. Still, if you buy only one book on Matisse, this should be it.

Covers all aspects of Matisse and his works!
This book goes through all of his different periods in his life; including many full-color plates which display the pictures described in the text. Definately a must have! ... Read more

Book Description

Henri Matisse's adventures in color and light constitute a landmark in the history of modern art.From his apprenticeship in the studio of Gustave Moreau to the paper cutouts of the 1950's, the stages of his journey represent a triumph of artistic research and resolution.More than 300 reproductions grace this volume.The text provides a fascination survey of a complex life that crossed the paths of many legendary figures of the age. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Beautiful.
One looks at the works of Matisse and wonders why there is no Noble Prize in Art.He would have been so deserving.The works printed in this book are dazzling in their colors, shapes, lines and proportions.His work will be viewed for many, many years as the masterpieces of a tremendously creative man.

Cursory text, fabulous illustrations.
the problem with series that attempt to impose an accessible beginners' format on art and artists is that these things rarely conform to method.the Taschen introductions to great artists are all 96 pages long, dividing the artist's life into significant chronological chapters, following strict biography, and using key paintings to illustrate various points made.this is fine in practice, we've all got to start somewhere, and the series is noted for its refusal to talk down to the reader, its clarity of interpretation, and the bounteous range of miraculously mounted, full-colour reproductions, not just of paintings, but line drawings, lithographs, sketches, studies, woodcuts etc.

The obvious difficulty is not that artists are transcendent and wayward figures who won't fit into a neat grid, but that some artists lived to be considerably older than others.the first book in this series I read was Anna Meseure's 'Auguste Macke', the study of a painter who died when he was only 27.Meseure was able to elaborate each development in Macke's work in detail, and to give a proper treatment of biographical background and its influence on the art, if only on the level of subject matter.

Macke, however, remains a marginal figure.henri Matisse is one of the towering geniuses of 20th century culture.He lived, and painted masterpieces, until he was 85; his life spanned two cataclysmic World Wars, a riot of social and political changes, and almost every aesthetic revolution worth talking about in the last 150 years.given the same amount of space to discuss Matisse as Meseure had with a painter a third his age, Essers' study can't help being a cursory skim, with few revelatory anecdotes (we only learn in the chronology about Matisse's pilgrimmage to the aging Renoir; his theatre designs for Stravinsky; or the visit of Aragon to his sickbed during World War Two - such episodes are surely as important as some given prominence in the book), or, worse, few intimations of the blinding raptures that must have seized Matisse at each new artistic discovery and breakthrough.We learn very little about his relation to his cultural milieu, his tacit rivalry with Picasso, or his overall importance in the history of art; discussion of the work is apolitically formalist.Uncomfortable questions - the obsessiveness of his early year despite his family's poverty; his apoliticism during World War Two - are skimmed over.

None of this really matters.Matisse's work travels surprisingly well in reproduction, especially the later works involving cut-outs, simplified forms and bold colours.the colours throughout are done full bright justice to, so dazzling in fact that reading this book for more than an hour gave me a headache.The rich mix of classics ('Woman with the Hat', 'La Dance', 'Jazz') with the revelatory, less well-known (including spare, geometric, near-abstract views of Notre Dame during World War One) allow us to write our own story of this shamanic artist, whose patrician, Freudian mien concealed the colours and curves of a blazing and boundless inner life. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Nicely written but not exactly what I wanted
This book is a nice overview of the work and life of Matisse. There are many beautiful and brilliantly described colorplates. It is a complete overview of his work. It also makes a beautiful coffee table piece that may inspire conversation.

I reasoned that because the author choose to feature a later piece by Matisse on the cover the book might emphasize his later work. But when I got the book his later work was only briefly talked about and only 2 of the colorplates were after 1940s.

Overall it is a nice book to get a sense of Matisse, his work and his life. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Reproductions are great, text is boring
First and foremost, the reproduction quality is really good.That's the most important thing to look for in a book.I've purchased some books where some of the paintings are horribly reproduced.This isn't the case with this book.I am fortunate enough to live in Paris and I have went to the modern art museum to see the Matisse paintings in person and I am pretty satisified with the quality of the book.

However, the text of the book is disappointing.I really got the impression that the author was just writing to fill in space.I didn't really learn much about his technique or much about him in fact.I quit reading the text half way through and just enjoyed the paintings.

If you are just looking for good reproductions, this is a good book.If you want to learn more about Matisse and the artists of his time, I'd look at a few other books first, maybe you could do better.

A nice journey into Matisse life
If you love Matisse, you will surely like this book. This volume provides a nice balance of biographical and analytical information on Matisse, along with excellent reproductions. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Interesting,not a coffe table book
First, this is not a coffe table book. Though Illustarted, it is NOT a picture book.I mistakenly thought it so.The books dimensions are1.69 x 9.40 x 7.12 ,whic are that of a normal harcover book. That said, this is an interesting volume on the creation of the famous chapel at Vence. Matisse was ill, and a young nurse kept him company though the long bouts of insomnia accompanying his illness. Later, she joined the domincan sisters.Matisse felt a huge debt to this woman-later nun, and a serious of circumstances led to the creation of this magnificent chapel. There was a domincan friar,Fr. M.A Courtier,who after being stranded in the USA during WWII,set about bringing modern art together with the sacred.{he edited a journal called SACred art}. A young architect,Br. L.B. Rayssiguier, was designing a new chapel for the NUNS at Vence, and approached Matisse to ask his advice. The majority of this book is the correspondence between Matisse and Fr Courtier and Brother Rayssiguier. The photos show the chapel in many stages of development{though not nearly enough color photos of the remarkable stained glass windows, nor of the marvelous stations of the cross} Still, it was an interesting read,that 50 years ago, the giants of art were in competition to design great works of religious art,whatever their motives.Along with the Rothko chapel{a comparison drwan in the preface},this stands as a monument to a genius,and the letters bewteen Fr Coutrier and Matisse are filled with anecdotes and observations. The Menil Foundation has done an excellent job in the production of this volume. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A good book with accurate color
This is a wonderful book. The color seems very accurate. There are many artbooks with inaccurate color reproduced. I compared several photos in this book with the real Matisse's paintings, the color is all accurate. ... Read more

Book Description

The Cone sisters, Claribel and Etta, acquired their first Matisse in 1906 and, during the next four decades, went on to form one of the world’s great collections of his art. The Cone Collection not only contains major works from every phase of Matisse’s long career but also reflects the sisters’ special interest in his Nice period, when a new complexity of form and psychology entered the ever intense surface allure of his paintings.

Matisse in the Cone Collection breaks new ground by offering the first scholarly exploration of this exceptional group of works, all donated to the Baltimore Museum of Art in 1950. Doreen Bolger’s Foreword traces the Cone sisters’ early association with Leo and Gertrude Stein, their growing friendship with Matisse, and the building of their collection. An essay by Jack Flam guides readers through the sisters’ collection of Matisse’s art and, simultaneously, charts the artist’s development from his Neo-Impressionist work of the 1890s to his late style of the 1940s, which is marked by the use of cut-paper and an increasingly linear language of form.

The publication of this book will coincide with the reopening of the Cone Wing of the Baltimore Museum of Art after a renovation designed to make the galleries reflect the period in which the art was first made and collected. ... Read more

Book Description

Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso have long been seen as the twin giants of modern art, as polar opposites but also as complementary figures. Between them they are the originators of many of the most significant innovations of 20th-century painting and sculpture, but their relationship has rarely been explored in all of its closeness and complexity. In spite of their initial rivalry, the two masters eventually acknowledged one another as equals, becoming, in their old age, increasingly important to one another both artistically and personally. From the time of their initial encounters in 1906 in Gertrude and Leo Stein's Paris studio until 1917, they individually produced some of the greatest art of the 20th century and maintained an openly competitive relationship brimming with intense innovation. This period saw them create such works as Picasso's majestic "Woman with a Fan" of 1908 and Matisse's great portrait of his wife of 1913. Matisse responds to Synthetic Cubism in his "Piano Lesson" of 1916 and Picasso comes back in turn with a new, more decorative Cubism in "Three Musicians" of 1921. The 20s saw them grow apart, as Matisse moved from Paris to Nice and Picasso became involved with the Surrealists, but the 30s brought them together again, through their sheer fame and devotion to reality-based art. Their story continues until Matisse's death in 1954, when Picasso paid his friend and colleague tribute in his series Women of Algiers, of which he said, "When Matisse died, he left his odalisques to me as a legacy." Matisse Picasso presents the artists' oeuvres in groupings that reveal the affinities but also the extreme contrasts of their artistic visions. Published to accompany the landmark exhibition, a joint effort of The Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Tate Modern, London; the Réunion des musées nationaux/Musée Picasso and the Musée national d'art moderne/Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Matisse Picasso is the first major examination of the fascinating relationships between their art, their careers, and their lives. Thirty-four essays, each by a member of the exhibition's curatorial team, focus on a particular moment in the artists' evolving relationship. The authors present in-depth analyses of specific aspects of the unique artistic dialogue between Matisse and Picasso as reflected in selected juxtapositions of each artist's works. These texts are accompanied by an introductory history, commentary on the public perception of important artistic relationships, and an extensive chronology.

Picasso sees everything. --Henri Matisse

By Anne Baldassari, Elizabeth Cowling, John Elderfield, John Golding, Isabelle Monod-Fontaine and Kirk Varnedoe.

Hardcover, 9.75 x 12.25 in., 368 pages, 220 color and 60 b&w ... Read more