Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs

by Nicholas Cullinan (Editor), Jodi Hauptman (Editor), Karl Buchberg (Editor)

With their economy of means and chromatic geometries, Matisse’s cut-outs are the apex of his "construction by means of color" Published in conjunction with the most comprehensive exhibition ever devoted to Henri Matisse’s paper cut-outs, made from the early 1940s until the artist’s death in 1954, this publication presents approximately 150 works in a groundbreaking reassessment of Matisse’s colorful and innovative final chapter. The result of research conducted on two fronts--conservation and curatorial--the catalogue offers a reconsideration of the cut-outs by exploring a host of technical and conceptual the artist’s methods and materials and the role and function of the works in his practice; their economy of means and exploitation of decorative strategies; their environmental aspects; and their double lives, first as contingent and mutable in the studio and ultimately made permanent, a transformation accomplished via mounting and framing. Richly illustrated to present the cut-outs in all of their vibrancy and luminosity, the book includes an introduction and a conservation essay that consider the cut-outs from new theoretical and technical perspectives, and five thematic essays, each focusing on a different moment in the development of the cut-out practice, that provide a chronicle of this radical medium’s unfolding, and period photographs that show the works in process in Matisse’s studio.

One of modern art’s towering figures, Henri Matisse (1869–1954) was a painter, draftsman, sculptor and printmaker before turning to paper cut-outs in the 1940s. From the clashing hues of his Fauvist works made in the South of France in 1904–05, to the harmonies of his Nice interiors from the 1920s, to this brilliant final chapter, Matisse followed a career-long path that he described as "construction by means of color."

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art Design, Coffee Table Books, Art and Photography

302 pages, Hardcover

First published April 17, 2014

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was a prolific artist who produced an immense body of work. In 1941, he was diagnosed with cancer, and the subsequent surgery made it difficult for him to continue to paint. To amuse himself, he began cutting shapes out of colored paper and arranging them as compositions. This brought a sudden new vitality to his work, and he spent his last decade generating work from cut paper. Originally viewed by critics as the "hobby" of an old man, many now feel (including myself) that these late works are some of his most astonishing, life-affirming pieces. MoMA, which happens to own a large cut-paper work called The Swimming Pool mounted an exhibition of the cut-paper works, and produced a handsome, well-researched book to go with that show. These are works I have loved for many years, and it's great to have so many of these piece available in book form. While this book can't reproduce the scale and vitality of the originals, it's enough of a reminder to trigger the remembrance of the pleasure I have derived from seeing the works in person in the past. No Matisse fan will want to be without this.

[frankie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - The problem i have with art books like this is sometimes the essays written about the artists are just stupid lol. Henri Matisse has some great art, this book has some nice examples of his work.

[MegMuzz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scissor bamboo pole
hotel arabesque
Pin repeat shapes

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the book but would have preferred it if the structure was not a series of essays.

[Anna-Maija Tähkävuori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Näyttelykirjoilta edellytetään ilmentävien piirteiden lisäksi kuvan ja tekstin harmoniaa, jonka synnyttää hallittu, hieman arkkitehtoninen layout. Nicholas Cullinanin editoima Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs sopii mielestäni tasapainoisena malliksi muullekin graafiselle tai kuvalliselle käsittelylle.
Laadukkaiden taiteen opaskirjojen sisällöt tuovat tutkimuspohjaa mm taidekritiikeille mutta usein valitettavasti jäävät huomiotta informoivina itsestään selvyyksinä.
Mielestäni kattavan, poikkeuksellista tekniikkaa käsittelevän Matisse-teoksen kokonaisuus ansaitsee hyvin oman arvioinnin.
Lukuisten Henri Matissen (1869-1954) tyylikausia sivunneiden näyttelyiden jälkeen en odottanut Museum of Modern Art´n tuovan esille merkityksellistä uutta, mutta tulin täysin yllätetyksi Harmi, ettei ollut mahdollista tutustua töiden ripustuksiin tai teoskokonaisuuteen.
Nicholas Cullinanin näyttelykirjassa harvoin nähdyt, viimeisen luomiskauden pelkistyneet työt pääsevät painokkaasti esille, tuoden kiintoisan lisän taiteilijan monivaiheiseen postmodernismiksi päätyneeseen tuotantoon.
Matisselle tyypilliset hienostuneet sommitelmat sekä ekspressionistisen fauvismin mystiset väritykset työntyvät kohti, nyt 1940-luvun figuureiksi muuntuneissa hahmoissa, taustana puhdas tila.
Näkemyksellinen yhteys varhaisiin merkkiteoksiin, Blue Nude (1907) ja Tanssi-variaatiot (1909-19109), on ilmeinen, ehkä tarkoituksellista taakse kiertyvää viitekieltä.
Cullinanin kokoaman näyttelykirjan sivuilla aistii hienosti viime vuosisadan ehkä huimimman ja laajimmin vaikuttaneen modernistin selkeät loppuvedot, värin ja muodon jo etääntyvinä sykähdyksinä.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Matisse and his cutouts and wanted to learn more about the technique and process. This is not the book to learn more.

It's a bunch of essays by different people that use a lot of words to say very little. The essays were not coordinated so they cover the same territory shallowly.

A great exhibition like this deserves a better book than a kluge of pasted together essays to pad out the images.

I only gave it 3 stars because of the eye-candy.

[Anselm · Rating 4 out of 5]

the writing is a little dumb in places, so this is a three or less on that end, and a higher than five for the repros

[Deb Oestreicher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art in this book is great and beautifully reproduced; the essays vary in interest and quality.

[Brian Krivisky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I pretty much buy the monograph of every museum exhibit I attend. This exhibit and book were particularly good and this book is well written with excellent illustrations.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

what an asshole. boring.

[Cat Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on Matisse's phenomenal cut-outs! .