Matisse, His Art and His Textiles

by Jack Flam, Ann Dumas, Remi Labrusse

A lavishly illustrated exploration of the textile works of Henri Matisse, published to coincide with a major international exhibition, considers the artist's relationship with textiles throughout his career, documenting how the art form and its materials significantly impacted many of his key works."

Genres: Art, Art Design, Biography, Nonfiction

216 pages, Hardcover

First published January 28, 2004

About the author

Jack D. Flam (2 April 1940 - ) is Professor of Art History at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City College of New York and author of Matisse: The Man and His Art (1986) and Matisse: A Retrospective (1990).

From 1984 to 1992, Flam was the art critic of the Wall Street Journal.

Reviews

[Lucie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lyrical prose and great selection of Matisse's works.
It made me want to grab my scissors and stick the images on my walls.

[Jessica Shupe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fascinating exploration of Matisse’s work through the years. I’ve thought about this book for MONTHS before reading it and I’ll probably think about it for years now that I’ve thoroughly gone through it.

[Kerfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really sorry to have missed this exhibit. Both the art and the textiles are exceptional.

Matisse grew up in Bohain, a weaving center in France, known for its bold, colorful, often experimental, luxury textiles. This early influence had a profound effect on the way he came to make art, and he collected and used as background and costume both textiles and clothing from many cultures and many parts of the world. He had a particular interest in textiles from Islamic lands.

The textile-centered aspect to Matisses's work should be obvious, yet I had never looked at his art from that perspective; this book definitely enlarged my vision. The essays provide background and illumination, highlighting specific garments and cloth that were used over and over for different paintings and drawings. Matisse's own garment designs, particularly the religious chasubles, are also noted.

Even the photos of his various studios reinforce the theme.

"Matisse furnished all his homes and studios from junk shops with bits and pieces that caught his eye..."

As they do, through his paintings, our own.

[Lindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most gorgeous book of textiles you will ever see. Matisse collected fabric samples and costumes all his life; he referred to them as his library. In this book (from an exhibition I wish I had seen) you can see how he used them. A blue and white toile becomes a purple print on a red background; a plaid taffeta is used as is. It is such fun seeing a robe or a piece of fabric and recognizing the painting in which he used it.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful textiles. Interesting that Matisse based his paintings on all the textiles he had collected throughout life. His father was a weaver.

[Brigette · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art and photographs are out of this world; and the essays, while very academic, are quite interesting.

[Nancym · Rating 5 out of 5]

Went to the exhibit and have finally gotten around to the book. Loved both

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

WONDERFUL book.