Matisse The Wonder of Color

by Xavier Girard

A description of Matisse and his works combines little-known facts--as documented from his notes, letters to friends, press submissions, and interviews--with his vibrant paintings, his crimson-walled studio, and his achievements with color. Original.

Genres: Art

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Xavier Girard, (26 June, 1951 - ) is a French art historian, critic, and professor of art history. Girard is also the curator at the Musée Matisse in Nice, France.

Reviews

[Robert Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief and well illustrated biography of Matisse that manages to balance accessibility with intelligent comment. A good primer on this important modern artist that includes a helpful selection of primary texts by Matisse and his contemporaries at the end of the book.

[Mauro Aragón · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a million little art books. I'm an artist so I just pick up little art books whenever I find the artist interesting, even if it's just a little bit. I started to read this book a long time ago and forgot about it, until recently.

There are so many books on artists and I figured this little glossy book would only outline Matisse's career and that was fine. It's nice to see a collection of glossy pics all together in one little book. And that's basically what this book gives you.

In addition, you get the "behind the scenes" stories and photos, that are just as interesting as Matisse's work.

But, my favorite part of this little book is the non-glossy section at the end. It features interviews with Matisse, Matisse's thoughts on various topics and more photos, etc. You really get into Matisse's head by being able to read this section in the end.

[Michael P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful introduction to a wonderful artist, marred by the small trim size of the book that insures many of the reproductions are too small to properly appreciate.