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In the final decades of a prolific career, modern artist Henri Matisse (1869–1954) took up book illustration. This exhibition celebrates our 2024 acquisition of Jazz, Matisse’s 1947 artist book on the circus and theater. Jazz includes 20 color stencil prints (pochoirs) of popular subjects on these themes, from horses to ringmasters. The prints were created using the artist’s lively paper cutouts, what Matisse called “drawing with scissors.” Published by the innovative Greek publisher Tériade (Stratis Eleftheriadis), it is considered the pinnacle of Matisse’s graphic art.
Late in his life, confined to a chair or bed, Matisse transformed a simple technique into a medium for the creation of a major art. “I have attained a form filtered to its essentials.” Cutting dynamic shapes from painted paper, Matisse created his images. While producing pieces for Jazz, the artist used a large brush to write notes to himself on construction paper. The simple visual appearance of the words pleased Matisse, and he suggested using his reflective handwritten thoughts in juxtaposition with the images. The original edition of Jazz was an artist’s book, printed in a limited quantity. This selection from the original is an exquisite suite of color plates and text that, like the music it was named for, was invented in a spirit of improvisation and spontaneity. These magnificent cut-outs of pure color celebrate the radiance and emotional intensity of the artist’s oeuvre. Hardcover, 96 pages.
Quality reproductions in paper, framed and unframed, from Matisse's Jazz Unbound at the de Young museum accompany the exhibition on view from January 25 through July 6, 2025. This exclusive release was produced in close collaboration with the Henri Matisse Estate.
