An Exhibition Studies Process: "Matisse: Pairs and Series"

Learning Examples from the Modern Masters

Jun. 01, 2012

2:34 p.m.

A greatly admired master of Modern Art Henri Matisse (1869-1954) transformed his aesthetic vocabulary over a lifetime. How did Matisse do this in his paintings? Through repetitions, reprises and variations. In an exhibition that will travel to New York's Metropolitan Museum of New York in December 2012, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France presents “Matisse: Pairs and Series, an intense chronological perspective on the artist's process. While modern viewers take for granted that artistic geniuses rarely struggled with their gift, “Pairs and Series” proves otherwise. Beginning at Matisse's Paris years at the turn of the century, the artist experimented with his version of impressionism. Atmospheric light and luminosity became apparent when the artist painted Pont Saint Michel, effect de neige (1900) numerous times. Matisse studies the brilliant snow on the Paris bridge, three painted variations opening the exhibition. which began Matisse's process into revisiting the same subject at alternate times or seasons.<o:p /> Nudes critically influenced Matisse's painting repertoire in the classical and non-classical form, exhibited in a pair of oils in the exhibition from 1907-1908. The revisions between Le Luxe I and the more defined Luxe II indicate that the artist worked diligently for color, composition and form, which came with more clarity in the playful nudes pictured in Luxe II.<o:p /> During the years 1914 and 1915, Matisse discovered and fostered a professional relationship with the Cubist painter Juan Gris, and began incorporating this new art movement into his own painting. Several portraits of his daughter Marguerite began to transfer his formal interpretations into flatter planes from multiple perspectives, simplified shapes and colors. Which in turn inspired Gris to move from the monochromatic palette frequently used by Cubism into the brightly hued colors that differentiate Gris\'s cubist paintings. <o:p /> As the exhibition progresses into the 1930's and 40's, one notices that the second or third in a pair or series will be a more complex expression in color, composition and forms or shapes than the others. While each painting has a unique personality and an exquisite quality because of the talented painter, even Matisse benefited from refining and reworking the characteristics or subjects he endeavored to place on a canvas.<o:p /> Even more impressive, Matisse experimented with contour line, this very minimal expression of form and also on display in two small galleries near the end of the exhibition. Series F, H & M repeat subjects dear to Matisse, fruit, flowers and nudes, to deconstruct these themes to their bare essence, often a single flourish through a curvaceous stroke. In one of the same galleries, “Pairs and Series” exhibits grand scale photographs from when Matisse first showed these spontaneous drawings that were visually delightful to the eye, which then perfected his own internal vision when painting. Possibly allowing Matisse to imagine his drawings for his papier gouachés decoupés that epitomize one facet of his brilliant career and he was beginning to experiment with. <o:p /> A glass case offers a view of numerous photographs that connect Matisse to a dedicated process. The artist photographed his paintings at various stages in their development to provide the artist a unique perspective that demonstrates the concentrated determination Matisse enjoyed when working. Paintings were contemplated, examined and reworked for his ultimate satisfaction. Even after the completion, the photographs allowed Matisse to analyze his work, to understand how and why he arrived at the final composition.<o:p /> After a series of interiors and portraits painted in the 1940's at a villa in Nice, including a stylized woman in sleep titled Le Reve, the exhibition concludes with four papiers gouachés decoupés from 1952. Nu Bleu I, II, III, IV depict Matisse's further development with collage, deconstructing the female figure to sublime shapes and minimal curves in a vibrant Mediterranean blue shade. Each image illustrates the careful attention to detail as Matisse subtly varied each subsequent image, the variances noted in this sensuous and intriguing series with the simple technique of paper cutting, a medium he developed to perfection.<o:p /> Perhaps more than merely admiring and understanding a great Modern artist, “Matisse: Pairs and Series” instructs emerging and future artists in creative process, how seriously and systematically cataloguing and examining past artwork would strengthen a finished painting, and optimally increases future productively. Where the status quo can be shattered. Conscious decisions and conceptual details Matisse explored throughout his life pushed his work forward. Expanded on themes and theories he later developed so that little was left to chance except for the passion that shone through this work. The essential and final element Matisse desired to leave on his canvas. The exhibition brochure quotes Matisse when he said:<o:p /> “One enters a state of creativity through conscious work. To prepare its<o:p /> execution, is….,to nurture its feeling through studies that have a certain<o:p /> analogy with the picture, and that is how the choice of elements can be made.<o:p /> It is these studies that allow the painter to free his unconscious mind.” The processes explored in the exhibition encourage dedication and perseverance, a personal vision merged with a consistent work ethic that served Matisse and Modern Art in the 20th century and far beyond. Young artists could significantly benefit from these examples. That creating art requires thoughtful intent, intellectual curiosity paired with perspiration, perhaps even put before the pure inspiration to place paint on the canvas. Matisse's reprises and repetitions shown in “Pairs and Series” exemplify instruction to artists in this decade and future centuries. To be embraced and remembered by those talented artists that might follow in his prestigious footsteps.<o:p /> The Centre Pompidou in Paris, France presents “Matisse: Pairs and Series” through June 12, after which it will travel to Copenhagen and then New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art from December 4, 2012 to March 17, 2013. For further information or a catalogue of the exhibition: www.centrepompidou.fr<o:p /> <o:p /> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p /> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p>

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