Matisse, The Cut-Outs

#ArtSaturday Henri Émile Benoît Matisse 1869-1954, French painter, draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor

Matisse began his art career by copying the Masters: his work was very realistic and relatively traditional.

Still Lifes:https://t.co/MaSdzqG0nS pic.twitter.com/wdwzNuY4O7

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
After seeing the work of the Impressionists, like Vincent Van Gogh, and after becoming friends — and perhaps mild rivals — with Picasso, Matisse’s own work began to dramatically change, exhibiting the brighter colors for which he became famous. pic.twitter.com/bKJ4agSv9c

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
At one of his early shows after his work first changed from traditional realism to Impressionism to… something else entirely… a critic called Matisse a “fauve” (a wild animal), implying that he had no talent.https://t.co/RLOFq8QJhD pic.twitter.com/Op1NxN35p7

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
In 1941, Matisse was diagnosed with colon cancer, and the resulting surgery left him permanently bedridden or in a wheelchair: He could no longer stand in front of his canvases and paint.

Matisse with Minouche, one of his beloved cats pic.twitter.com/CUtF67Vb4I

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
Thought Matisse had made some paper cut-outs and collages before his cancer diagnosis, he began making primarily paper collages after the surgery made him unable to stand and paint.

Project for the Stranda Forandola, 1938 pic.twitter.com/O6WSS1yAdO

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
After Matisse cut out pieces of brightly colored paper, they were arranged, according to his direction, by his assistants.

Icarus, 1943 pic.twitter.com/sF9kv9OoWY

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
Matisse is credited with “inventing” an entirely new form of art that is not painting and not sculpture: collage, or cut-outs, as these works are usually called.

The Fall of Icarus, 1943 pic.twitter.com/Lw7tkjIMs2

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
Matisse first used cut-out paper to create art in 1919, and then again in the late 1930s, when he designed stage-sets and costumes for a ballet.

Lagoon, 1944 pic.twitter.com/FUeZJLOl2v

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
Matisse’s earliest cut-outs, though artistic, were more utilitarian since they were designed more for decoration or the templates of costumes, sets, etc.

White Torso and Blue Torso, 1944 pic.twitter.com/aHOUECFqiu

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
After he could no longer paint, Matisse used the cut-outs as his primary way of creating art.

Anfitrite, 1947 pic.twitter.com/fftDp3U0Ht

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
In the early 1940s, Matisse’s earliest cut-outs were for his art book Jazz, and the cut-outs were designed to serve more as stencils for the printed pages.

The Circus, 1943
The Clown, 1943
(both from Jazz) pic.twitter.com/fmWyEnY6f1

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
Until he became confined to his bed or to a wheelchair, Matisse apparently did not think of the cut-outs as his primary artistic medium, though he eventually came to create art only in this medium.

Panel with Mask, 1947 pic.twitter.com/yi1MisflY7

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
Matisse’s cut-out “paintings” were no longer book-size: instead, they were on the walls of his studio; they became murals.

Polynesia, the Sky, 1947 pic.twitter.com/MjfV0gSOIP

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
Under Matisse’s watchful eye and explicit directions, his assistant Lydia pasted the cut-outs to the walls of the studio.

The Eskimo, 1947 pic.twitter.com/BnRYKz2uWZ

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
When Matisse was asked to design the artwork for a chapel, he did it entirely from paper cut-outs.

Matisse with some of his Chapel Cut-Outs, c 1948-50
(photographer uncredited in source) pic.twitter.com/fGcxJYgz7F

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
Matisse called his cut-out technique “painting with scissors.”

The Japanese Mask, 1950 pic.twitter.com/aXA30NUiG9

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs

The Creole Dancer, 1950 pic.twitter.com/TWUyQRdsrW

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs

The Beasts of the Sea, 1950 pic.twitter.com/WOf9cuBFu4

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
“It has bothered me all my life that I do not paint like everybody else.” ~ Matisse

The Sadness of the King, 1952 pic.twitter.com/oD3amVvrGb

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
“An artist must never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success.”
~ Matisse

Blue Nude with Her Hair in the Wind, 1952 pic.twitter.com/LYJK9xivYH

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
“Color was not given to us in order that we should imitate Nature. It was given to us so that we can express our emotions.” ~Matisse

Blue Nude, Standing, 1952 pic.twitter.com/ih9aCdNgUd

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
“If I close my eyes, I see things better than with my eyes open.”
~ Matisse

Blue Nude, 1952 pic.twitter.com/bKATQZACxJ

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
After his cancer surgery, paper cut-outs became Matisse’s sole artistic medium.

The Parakeet and the Mermaid, 1952 pic.twitter.com/0iXXrGFHY8

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
Matisse’s The Boat (1953) was confusing to viewers: they didn’t understand why the “refelction” of the boat was more detailed than the boat itself. It seems someone in the museum had unintentionally displayed the painting upside down for 47 days. pic.twitter.com/lqXloVg6Gl

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs

La Gerbe, 1953 pic.twitter.com/BmwesaNJkh

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs

The Snail, 1953 pic.twitter.com/QqZQuJCB9m

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

#ArtSaturday Matisse, Cut-Outs
1954: Matisse died of a heart attack, age 84, and was buried beside his wife near Nice, France.

Photograph of Matisse by Carl Van Vechten pic.twitter.com/Ygib7cNnoE

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) August 31, 2019

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