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Matisse
"...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 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.
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 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.
- GenresArtNonfiction
752 pages, Hardcover
First published November 26, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 6, 2024
An insightful analysis of the inner and outer struggle and triumph of an artist.
Here is a quest, here is heroism, here is audacity, here is anguish, here is invincible hope.
Here is Matisse.
Here is a quest, here is heroism, here is audacity, here is anguish, here is invincible hope.
Here is Matisse.
November 15, 2011
Tbis gorgeous book takes the reader on a journey of Henri Matisse's artistic phases, presenting a gallery in a book. Matisse was a generous artist who delighted in sharing his visions with other people, particularly young artists who apprenticed with him.
Matisse suffered from the devestating results of medical treatment, which eventually left him wheelchair bound and then, towards the end of life, completely bedridden. But his condition served as a springboard to his final phase, the cut outs of Henri Matisse. Matisse painted heavy weight paper, and then sitting in his wheelchair, he picked up his scissors and cut shapes that he used to create magnificent compositions. As he became weaker, Matisse used an extention for his drawing implements, and sketched his works on the wall and ceiling.
This book is a treasure of information and the artistic works of my favorite aritist, Henri Matisse.
Matisse suffered from the devestating results of medical treatment, which eventually left him wheelchair bound and then, towards the end of life, completely bedridden. But his condition served as a springboard to his final phase, the cut outs of Henri Matisse. Matisse painted heavy weight paper, and then sitting in his wheelchair, he picked up his scissors and cut shapes that he used to create magnificent compositions. As he became weaker, Matisse used an extention for his drawing implements, and sketched his works on the wall and ceiling.
This book is a treasure of information and the artistic works of my favorite aritist, Henri Matisse.
April 24, 2011
Pierre's words are as beautiful as Matisse's drawings. He gets into the sole of the painting if not the sole of the painter. Every paragraph opens your eyes to the essential humanistic truth within the paint
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews