Matisse

by Gilles Néret

Matisse, the bard of colour, and Picasso, the breaker of moulds: together, these two giants shaped the world of modern art. They were, as Picasso once said, "North Pole, South Pole."

The work of Henri Matisse (1869-1954) is a sensous hymn to colour, that wild yet subtle colour which he tamed, mastered and managed, and which expressed his feelings towards women and the world. Colour was the tool with which he controlled line, arabesque, volume, light transparency, reflection and space, and though he did not shrink from pushing his creativity to the verge of abstraction, he never succumbed to it entirely. It was an approach well noted by America's Abstract Expressionists.

This new and carefully conceived freedom marked not only the extraordinary significance of the painter and sculptor Matisse in the history of modern art, but also his influence, which was no less decisive than that of his main rival, Pablo Picasso. In fact, Matisse's stylistic liberation actually goes one step further in the pursuit of his own personal goal - the perfect synthesis of line and colour - by which he sought revolutionary approaches to the great tradition of French painting by drawing upon its classical aspects.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art History, Reference

Hardcover

First published October 2, 1996

About the author

Gilles Néret (6 November 1933 - 3 August 2005) was a French art critic and historian, journalist and curator. He wrote extensively on the history of erotica.

He organized several art retrospectives in Japan and founded the SEIBU museum and the Wildenstein Gallery in Tokyo. He directed art reviews such as L’Oeil and Connaissance des Arts and received the Elie Faure Prize in 1981 for his publications. Since 1992, Néret was an editor for Taschen, for which he has written catalogues raisonnés of the works of Klimt and others, as well as the author of Erotica Universalis.

Reviews

[AC · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book (ISBN: 9783822850206) which is part of the Tauschen 25th Anniversary Special Editions, is quite different, and far far better than Essers' little volume. It is hardbound, by inexpensive. This book has over 250 pages of beautiful prints, many of which I've never seen before - from private collections, and so forth -- some of which I can't find on-line. There is a paperback listed for this volume on Amazon, but I think it may be Essers'. At any rate, it's really given me an appreciation of Matisse.

[Juan Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

La paleta de colores y la simplificación de las formas en Matisse generan sensaciones sublimes. Sus obras, la alegría de vivir, danza, retrato de Ivonne Landsberg, la blusa rumana y la capilla y muchas otras... Son geniales

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

good art read

[Kelsey Redding · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s nice how much of his work is included in this and referenced directly in the text, but the writing is redundant and dry.

[Lyle Bernstein-Kevorkian · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic prints

[Cameron Toney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice overview of Matisse, both his life and his work, with a specific interest in those who influenced him, and those he influenced.
And, of course, lots and lots of gorgeous pictures!

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

The work of Matisse is like a hymn dedicated to the voluptuous color.

[Zanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is an outstanding art book, and it certainly increased my love for the joyous, fluent, form-breaking work of Matisse.

[Kaylee]

Written in an awful art critic dialect. I skimmed the text and enjoyed the pictures.