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Chasing Matisse: A Year in France Living My Dream
Who hasn't had the fanthasy of leaving his or her old life behind to start over? What would happen if you gave up your job, city, state, and routine to move to another part of the world? Critically acclaimed writer and aspiring painter James Morgan does just that. Risking everything, he and his wife shed their old, settled life in a lovingly restored house in Little Rock, Arkansas, to travel in the footsteps of Morgan's hero, the painter Henri Matisse, and to find inspiration in Matisse's fierce struggle to live the life he knew he had to live. Part memoir, part travelogue, and part biography of Matisse, Chasing Matisse proves that you don't have to be wealthy to live the life you want; you just have to want it enough.
Morgan's riveting journey of self-discovery takes him, and us, from the earthy, brooding Picardy of Matisse's youth all the way to the luminous Nice of the painter's final years. In between, Morgan confronts, with the notebook of a journalist and the sketchpad of an artist, the places that Matisse himself saw and bustling, romantic Paris; windswept Belle-île off the Brittany coast; Corsica, with its blazing southern light; the Pyrénees village of Collouire, where color became explosive in Matisse's hands; exotic Morocco, land of the secret interior life; and across the sybaritic French Riviera to spiritual Vence and the hillside Villa Le Rêve -- the Dream -- where the mature artist created so many of his masterpieces.
A journey from darkness to light, Chasing Matisse shows us how we can learn to see ourselves, others, and the world with fresh eyes. We look with Morgan out of some of the same windows through which Matisse himself found his subjects and take great heart from Matisse's indomitable, life-affirming spirit. For Matisse, living was an art, and he never stopped striving, never stopped creating, never stopped growing, never stopped reinventing himself. "The artist," he said, "must look at everything as though he were seeing it for the first time." That's the inspiring message of renewal that comes through on every page of Chasing Matisse. Funny, sad, and defiantly hopeful, this is a book that restores our faith in the possibility of dreams.
Morgan's riveting journey of self-discovery takes him, and us, from the earthy, brooding Picardy of Matisse's youth all the way to the luminous Nice of the painter's final years. In between, Morgan confronts, with the notebook of a journalist and the sketchpad of an artist, the places that Matisse himself saw and bustling, romantic Paris; windswept Belle-île off the Brittany coast; Corsica, with its blazing southern light; the Pyrénees village of Collouire, where color became explosive in Matisse's hands; exotic Morocco, land of the secret interior life; and across the sybaritic French Riviera to spiritual Vence and the hillside Villa Le Rêve -- the Dream -- where the mature artist created so many of his masterpieces.
A journey from darkness to light, Chasing Matisse shows us how we can learn to see ourselves, others, and the world with fresh eyes. We look with Morgan out of some of the same windows through which Matisse himself found his subjects and take great heart from Matisse's indomitable, life-affirming spirit. For Matisse, living was an art, and he never stopped striving, never stopped creating, never stopped growing, never stopped reinventing himself. "The artist," he said, "must look at everything as though he were seeing it for the first time." That's the inspiring message of renewal that comes through on every page of Chasing Matisse. Funny, sad, and defiantly hopeful, this is a book that restores our faith in the possibility of dreams.
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 29, 2005
8 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
James Morgan
230 books8 followersLibrarian Note:
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There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
November 21, 2012
Wow, I am amazed at some of the negative reviews of this wonderful book.
I think perhaps some readers are not giving the author credit for writing the book promised in the title. While those who are interested in Matisse's life will learn many interesting things about him, the book is not really supposed to be about Matisse, but about the writer's love of his work, and the way that love inspired him to leave behind a perfectly satisfactory life in Arkansas to find an even better one in France.
It takes a lot of courage to do what James Morgan (and his wife, Beth Arnold) did. At an age when many people are content to settle for good-enough, and with no guarantee of what the outcome might be, they decided to leave behind the security of a wonderful home they loved to follow an uncertain dream in a place they'd always longed to discover. With Matisse as their inspiration, they followed his trail around France, discovering many wonderful things about Matisse along the way, but also many invaluable things about themselves, and about life, love, art--and the power of taking risks. They also encountered many wonderful people, who all come alive in the pages of this book.
Morgan writes wonderfully well, painting poetic word pictures of the beautiful places they find themselves in. I enjoyed the everyday details of life in France, and Morgan's self-deprecating humor (I wouldn't call it whining). The people he interviewed, the books he quotes from, the conversations he shares with fellow painters in Little Rock--I found all of this fascinating. The fact that Morgan also shares personal events--a visit by teenaged daughters who sleep much of the day away in a small, crowded apartment in Paris; the sudden, unexpected and devastating death of his wife's mother back in Arkansas--made this reader feel like she was really there with them, sharing the journey, both highs and lows.
I really loved this book.
I think perhaps some readers are not giving the author credit for writing the book promised in the title. While those who are interested in Matisse's life will learn many interesting things about him, the book is not really supposed to be about Matisse, but about the writer's love of his work, and the way that love inspired him to leave behind a perfectly satisfactory life in Arkansas to find an even better one in France.
It takes a lot of courage to do what James Morgan (and his wife, Beth Arnold) did. At an age when many people are content to settle for good-enough, and with no guarantee of what the outcome might be, they decided to leave behind the security of a wonderful home they loved to follow an uncertain dream in a place they'd always longed to discover. With Matisse as their inspiration, they followed his trail around France, discovering many wonderful things about Matisse along the way, but also many invaluable things about themselves, and about life, love, art--and the power of taking risks. They also encountered many wonderful people, who all come alive in the pages of this book.
Morgan writes wonderfully well, painting poetic word pictures of the beautiful places they find themselves in. I enjoyed the everyday details of life in France, and Morgan's self-deprecating humor (I wouldn't call it whining). The people he interviewed, the books he quotes from, the conversations he shares with fellow painters in Little Rock--I found all of this fascinating. The fact that Morgan also shares personal events--a visit by teenaged daughters who sleep much of the day away in a small, crowded apartment in Paris; the sudden, unexpected and devastating death of his wife's mother back in Arkansas--made this reader feel like she was really there with them, sharing the journey, both highs and lows.
I really loved this book.
June 29, 2015
An American couple decides to visit the places where Matisse lived and worked. They visited interesting places mostly in France. I think they were really lucky to realize this plan though their tour wasn't always so happy.
August 12, 2008
Loved this book. I read it just before going abroad in July 08. While in Nice, I traced some of the steps the author took in researching Matisse.
August 22, 2009
This one was good, I love reading about people and their travel experiences, especially in France.
September 10, 2011
Traveling in the footsteps of his hero, the author and his wife live the dream of a year's journey in France, chasing light, color, and insight into this great artist.
May 23, 2023
Disinterested at first, but then it was fun to follow along the artistic trail of Matisse w James Morgan. I did not feel guilty skipping some parts that told more than I wanted to know about each day’s itinerary in France and Spain. Morgan made Matisse clear (although maybe he wasn’t very nice), & I learned to appreciate light ( sun, moon …) and what it does to color.
August 19, 2020
A couple who are writers with grown children decide to sell their house and pursue his dream of following Matisse for a year in France. He wants to find the color Matisse put in his paintings to put in his.
October 15, 2019
It was a pleasant read.
March 7, 2021
See Matisse painted views as this midwestern couple follows the path of the houses and studios he inhabited.
Read
August 7, 2021Well written, but it took forever to read it.
July 19, 2022
Through the eyes of an artist
This book just exudes color, interesting in the way it's written, beautifully traveled, brings both artists alive! Certainly a dream life coming true.
This book just exudes color, interesting in the way it's written, beautifully traveled, brings both artists alive! Certainly a dream life coming true.
April 6, 2023
Não era o que eu estava esperando.
December 16, 2024
Big Matisse fan and and French traveler? This book is for you.
May 31, 2009
James Morgan taps into a universal dream--the urge to freedom, the yearning to do what you want, free of schedules, responsibilities, constraints, dictation. His vehicle is Matisse, and he and his wife travel through France looking for the key to the artist's ability to live a full artistic life, hoping it will provide the inspiration and courage to realize their own escape from convention.
Though it held my interest, it seem basically to be in the vein of uplifting self-help writing: How To Change Your Life (if you have grown children, a house to sell, and a book contract).
It did make me want to go back to the source though--Matisse himself--and probably gave me a broader vision to approach him from.
Though it held my interest, it seem basically to be in the vein of uplifting self-help writing: How To Change Your Life (if you have grown children, a house to sell, and a book contract).
It did make me want to go back to the source though--Matisse himself--and probably gave me a broader vision to approach him from.
August 30, 2009
Wannabe artist gets a book deal to spend a year traveling around France visiting the sites where Matisse painted writes a boring travel journal. If he was a more interesting writer or more interesting things happened on his journey it might have been worth publishing. The only interesting portions of the book are direct quotes from Hilary Spurling's books on Matisse. Actually this whole book is based on her books. Although he occasionally describes his attempts at sketching and painting in France, they seemed to me to be more in the service of his book then his own passion as a painter. I gave up two chapters before the end since I just didn't care about him or his journey or his attempts to sketch and paint like Matisse.
January 5, 2012
This is essentially someone's journal. I really wanted to like this book since I too love Matisse,France and foreign adventures. There was also the added bonus of the author living in my hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas. As I read I found it jumped around too much from Matisse, to the author's whining about his life. He kept saying he was a writer but then he was a painter. I understand having multiple passions but I found the transitions between his varying interest, his wife's work, the people they met and knew in Little Rock to be a bit too mundane and in-cohesive. Maybe the author's sense of adventure was too tame for me and this would be a more exciting read for someone in his age group. I confess that I only made it half way through the book.
December 1, 2012
James tried painting as a midlife exercise. He becomes entranced with Matisse's work and dreams of chucking it all in, selling the house and moving to France. His wife buys into the dream. They do it. And there the story begins.
They don't buy or rent a house. They move every few weeks and months. Adventures happen. But more importantly, James paints. He paints a lot. He follows Matisse's painting career all over. And throughly enjoys it.
Living the dream.
They don't buy or rent a house. They move every few weeks and months. Adventures happen. But more importantly, James paints. He paints a lot. He follows Matisse's painting career all over. And throughly enjoys it.
Living the dream.
February 2, 2014
I enjoyed the format.. part travel journal, part art book. I liked the author's writing style.. it felt personal and it brought me in.
The 'adventure' was a bit tame for me, and WAY too high-end (i'm more of a backpacking hostel type), but really.. he DID get to actually STAY for almost a week in one of Matisse's studios! In the SAME room that Matisse slept and created art! That is simply mind boggling to me and had me in tears.. such an incredible experience!
The 'adventure' was a bit tame for me, and WAY too high-end (i'm more of a backpacking hostel type), but really.. he DID get to actually STAY for almost a week in one of Matisse's studios! In the SAME room that Matisse slept and created art! That is simply mind boggling to me and had me in tears.. such an incredible experience!
February 6, 2009
Makes me want to go back to the South of France, especially St. Paul de Vence and Nice.
A little bit about Matisse is interesting if you want to know where he lived. The prose is pretty boring and standard.
A little bit about Matisse is interesting if you want to know where he lived. The prose is pretty boring and standard.
February 22, 2008
Two stars say it all- not a bad book, and it did make me want to go to France, but I wanted to anyway. He's obviously a Matisse lover, and makes following the artists life interesting.
November 4, 2010
Great summer read... about a couple re-tracing Matisse's footsteps in France.
November 7, 2010
great idea but authors were so rude and selfish; all about themselves and their gimmick, not about the soul of Matisse. They chased,didn't search, so didn't find.
December 17, 2017
I read this because part of it takes place in our town in France.
However, the writing is just O.K. and from the author's sketches
I had a hard time believing he's really an artist.
However, the writing is just O.K. and from the author's sketches
I had a hard time believing he's really an artist.
February 18, 2012
A fun book to read about enjoying life.
February 26, 2014
An entertaining memoir. Chasing Matisse is also about chasing your own dreams.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews