L'affaire Matisse

by Georgia Bragg

A kid. A famous painting. A cool moment. A prison sentence?

Have you ever done something you shouldn’t have? But you’re a good person and you don’t think that it’s going to cause any real harm? But then something bad happens and it turns out that you were wrong? Welcome to Matisse’s world.

Matisse has finally got the chance to come face to face with the work of his namesake, the great French painter Henri Matisse. The museum where his mom works as head of security is hosting a Matisse exhibit. Matisse thought it would be cool to hang his own artwork—a copy of a famous Matisse painting, Portrait of Pierre—on the museum wall just for a minute.

But then a tour group thinks that it’s a real Matisse. So now Matisse’s painting hangs in a museum—while the priceless original hangs on Matisse’s eccentric family’s den wall. A sixth grader should not get caught up in a museum heist. But . . . what if he does?

Genres: Childrens, Art, Adventure

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Georgia Bragg’s father, mother, and brother are all artists, and Georgia is too. She was a printmaker, a painter, and a storyboard artist before becoming a writer. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two children, and two cats.

Reviews

[Gwen the Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matisse and his siblings are all named after artists because his mom is a museum security guard and is crazy about art. Matisse likes to paint, so he goes to the museum every day after school and copies the famous paintings. He's actually really good. One day, he copies a visiting painting by the real artist Matisse. The security system is getting changed, and suddenly, Matisse is struck by the idea that he would like to see what his painting would look like in the frame, on the wall of the museum. Before he can swap the two paintings back, the security system goes back on! Now Matisse has a real and really valuable painting on his hands and his painting is on display in the museum! While he tries to think of ways to sneak the paintings back, Matisse starts to realize that maybe it's better to come up with art from your own heart rather than copying someone else's work.

This is a fun and easy read, full of crazy capers that will keep kids laughing.

[Jaide · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love art history and books about it, but this one I couldn’t finish. I just didn’t like the main character. He was so painfully embarrassed by his artsy and fun-loving family to the point of being a stick-in-the-mud. He’s also a very “meh”, lethargic, “I guess so” sort of kid.

And as with most realistic fiction, scenarios tended to feel over-the-top and weirdly specific. For example, at the beginning Matisse (the main character) is horrified to have to help push his Dad’s mobile barbecue down the street—with a full dead pig ready to be cooked on top of it. His best friend’s sister, Lizzie, takes pictures and puts them all over the school and he is ridiculed by everyone.

I loved “Framed” by James Ponti—another kids-solve-an-art-crime book. But this one wasn’t really my cup of tea.

[Jeanine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky and fun middle reader about a young artist who aspires for his art to hang on museum walls. When will anyone realize his artwork is already there and he has the original? How can he switch it out again?

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

“My family is like the sun. It’s dangerous to look right at them. You have to look at them through a little hole in a box,” says Matisse Jones, who finds himself always embarrassed by his eccentric family. Matisse, named after the famous painter, Henri Matisse, is budding artist himself just wants to be seen as normal or at least not in the spotlight. He spends many days copying the works of art hanging in the museum where his mom heads security. But, nothing is normal when he “accidentally steals” Matisse’s Portrait of Pierre that is on special exhibit at the museum and replaces it with a copy he painted. Guilt ridden, but also proud that his own work is admired, Matisse hilariously tries and tries to get the painting back without anyone finding out. Throughout his misadventures, Matisse discovers his own artistic voice and how his quirky family can serve as inspiration for his art. Learn more about Henri Matisse and his work at www.henri-matisse.net.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matisse isn’t too great at playing ball, like his best friend Toby; when he finally consents to go play some “just-for-fun” baseball at the park, he gets laughed off the diamond. But he is really talented at art. He spends a good amount of time at the museum, practicing painting by copying pieces in the galleries. Then one day throws his life a curve. His mom’s museum is hosting a special exhibit of paintings by his namesake, Henri Matisse. He paints a few copies of one, a portrait of the artist’s son, Pierre. His third looks so good he compares it to the original. Then he just has to see how it looks in the frame … and everything goes haywire. He has become an art thief!

Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/matisse-on-loo...

[Mr. Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I didn't have to read this book, I probably would have stopped about 20 pages in. I found it took a long time to take off. Even more than halfway through the book, I never would have thought this book would get any more than 2 stars from me. But it did get more interesting and I was into it a little bit. I thought about giving it 3 stars but I couldn't quite pull the trigger.

I did think that the story itself was creative but the execution was lacking in my opinion. I would probably try a different book by the author in the future.

It is a fairly quick book to read and may visually appeal to reluctant readers. But I am struggling to figure out for whom I would recommend this book.

Also, I thought a copy of the actual portrait in the book would have been helpful.

[Joanna Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met Georgia at the 2009 SCBWI Summer Conference. We participated in a late night critique group. She was working on her second novel and was there for feedback from other writers. I purchased her first book, published by Delacorte Press in 2009.

The story’s main character is an eleven-year-boy named Matisse. His mother is a curator at the local museum, which is why he was named after the French painter Henri Matisse. Like the 19 Century artist Matisse loves to paint, and accompanies his mother to the museum to paint replicas of the famous artists’ paintings. And this is where his adventure begins.

I enjoyed the book. It was an easy read, and middle grade readers ages 8 – 11 would love it.The story is very funny and the characters quirky.

[Jodysegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Matisse is the artist in a family of individualists, though Matisse just makes copies of famous artworks, while his sister and parents are originals themselves-- much to Matisse’s frequent embarrassment. When Matisse brings home a real Matisse instead of the copy he painted, he runs into all kinds of trouble trying to fix his mistake. Somewhere along the way, he discovers that he actually likes making his own art instead of copying others’, and that his parents’ eccentricities are not so bad after all. While the plot runs thin as Matisse tries repeatedly to return the painting, this is a fun art heist with a twist.

[Stacy Ford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matisse is an artist. He enjoys copying the paintings in the museum where his mom works. She in turn will display them at home in her mini museum. One week Henri Matisse's paintings are put on display for a special exhibit. Matisse copies one of the paintings and it looks almost identical, or better. A snafu in the security system allows Matisse to put his work in place of the other one just to see what it looks like. But before he can place the original back he is intercepted and must act like the original Matisse is his. Hi-jinks ensue as Matisse tries to replace the original painting.

[Caitlin Lillie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matisse, son of an art security guard and a barbecuer, loves to copy famous art. He copies Portrait of Pierre Matisse at the gallery where his mum works and decides that it's his best painting yet. The gallery is empty, the alarm's off, he can't resist... he takes the painting out of it's frame and swaps it with his copt...
Some of this book annoyed me a bit a lot. Maybe it was just because I'm not fluent in French but the waffling on about "Did he give the painting back oh no he didn't lets try again uh-oh didn't work" really annoyed me. However, it was a pretty original concept and I liked the secondary characters. Matisse was also a bit annoying.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this little book. Matisse, a talented, quirky, almost eccentric young artist, gets one of his very good copies mixed up with a real Matisse masterpiece. A sort of "art heist caper" ensues. The book is funny and Matisse, the protagonist, is very well developed and endearing. I enjoyed reading this book and watching the character grow.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh Matisse! This was a great book. I liked how the main character was a boy who was into things other than sports. It was also fun to see how he went about trying to solve his problem. I would definitely recommend this book to other readers. Part of the Oklahoma Children's Sequoyah List for 2011-2012.

[LeeAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great adventure! I think kids would love it -- if they could get past the weird names and museum setting. The journey of the main character (literal and figurative) is so engaging. I wondered and wondered at how the author was going to find a satisfying ending that wouldn't feel too contrived. I was not disappointed.

[Jody · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bedtime story for my 8 year old. He and I both thought it started off pretty slow. Once it picked up, it provided some good talking points about what Matisse should next. At the end, my son asked if there was another book because he didn't feel like the end was good enough to wrap up the story.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhhhhhhhhh! So good! SO GOOD!!!!!!!

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A funny and intelligent book. Such vivid characters and a unique plot.

[Heather Shuck]

Sequoyah Nominee: 2011-2012 (Children's)

[Danielle Neldon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was funny and will be an easy read for kids, but I found myself too stressed out that something would happen to the priceless work of art to be able to really enjoy it.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ryan says: boring at times.

[Shelfari · Rating 4 out of 5]

1st big buk my lil 9 1/2 yr old bro read...!!!!