Notes d'un Peintre / Notes of a Painter

by Henri Matisse, Gareth Humphreys (Translator)

This edition features:
• A new English translation
• Parallel French and English texts
• Afterword

Henri Matisse, born 1869, rose to prominence in the first decade of the twentieth century as a leading figure in the controversial art movement, Fauvism. In 1908, the prestigious Grande Revue invited Matisse to publish an article in reply to the movement's critics. The intensely personal Notes, presented in this book, were the result.

Our unique parallel text presents the original French on the left page, the English translation on the right, with sentences and paragraphs aligned for easy reading and reference. Parallel texts of this kind are a very valuable learning resource, as they make the foreign language content immediately comprehensible.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

41 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 25, 1908

About the author

Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid, brilliant and original draughtsmanship. As a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but principally as a painter, Matisse is one of the best-known artists of the 20th century. Although he was initially labeled as a Fauve (wild beast), by the 1920s, he was increasingly hailed as an upholder of the classical tradition in French painting. His mastery of the expressive language of colour and drawing, displayed in a body of work spanning over a half-century, won him recognition as a leading figure in modern art.

Reviews

[B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Nous appartenons à notre temps et nous partageons ses opinions, ses sentiments et même ses erreurs. Tous les artistes portent l'empreinte de leur époque, mais les grands artistes sont ceux en qui elle est marquée le plus profondément." - Henri Matisse, page 39.

[bog · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was an interesting read but also kind of dense... which makes sense, because it was assigned to me in a 400 level art history course.

matisse writes that he is above all after “expression.” i took this to mean that he wants the message of his art to stand on its own, without relying on literary explanation. i really love the idea of art speaking for itself.

at one point he says, “the whole arrangement of my picture is expressive,”. by this i think he means that everything, figures, colors, forms, and empty spaces, is intentional. nothing is random, and every choice adds to the expression of the work. this was really neat to me, that he is creating his own visual narrative.

matisse also talks about the type of art he dreams of: one of “balance, purity, and serenity, devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter.” i connect with that as an artist, because the work i enjoy viewing is calm and relieving, rather than heaviness.

as an artist myself, i also relate to the way he describes struggling with his own work and constantly reworking things until they feel right. it felt honest and raw.

overall this essay was more thought-provoking than enjoyable. repetitive at times, but i’m glad i read it because it gave me a new understanding of my own art.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short essay, which to someone outside the world of art may seem simple or normal, but caused my Professor of Modern Art to try and invent words and put them into Matisse's head because he couldn't accept this pure straightforward theory from someone considered an artistic genius with profound depth in his painting philosophy. Absolutely wonderful, and a must read if you paint, study paint, like paint or don't do any of the three.

" for the [artist's] thought is worth no more than its expression by the means"


i found an english pdf online here:
http://www.austincc.edu/noel/writings...

[thuys]

Maybe because I have words on my side, but I am gradually convinced that whatever medium you work with, the serious worker will always have clear philosophy of what he does, though he may put it into words or not, and the way his thoughts do its work always goes around words.

[Writerlibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but in depth reflexion by Matisse on how he worked, what drove his inspiration and how he saw his art. Much like a musical composition. Useful for writing purposes.

[Jeanne Look · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illuminating insights from a master!