Bridge For Design Summer 2014 Bridge For Design Summer 2014 Issue | Page 204

DIARY | Henri Matisse

Sculpting in
pure colour
Charlotte Morgan
or much of the 20th century, Henri Matisse dominated the
came to believe the ‘simplest’ methods were the best means of
expression.
Matisse was thought to have vision from beyond his time;
artwork each time he painted. To him, colour and form could
only achieve their full potential if they became independent
elements from the objects they depicted.
Ill health halted Matisse’s painting career during the 1930’s
but the artist was able to call upon the help of his assistants,
employed to provide care, companionship and above all artistic
dexterity. Sheets of paper were painted in hues chosen by the
artist and then cut in to shapes with characteristics not dissimilar
to a brushstroke. Matisse termed this, ‘painting with scissors’ and
‘sculpting in pure colour’.
The colours chosen were bold, as Matisse felt that as we age,
we no longer view colour with the same excitement, seeing our
world in dull tones.

possessing a cut out quality, which had either a foreshortening of
shadow or a complete removal of one. “In pictures I can only go
back over the same old ground, but in design and decoration, I
have the mastery, I’m sure of it.”

L’escargot or The Snail by Henri Matisse

As Matisse’s passion for his new medium increased, so did his obsessive
and consuming habits. He wanted to spend every waking moment
‘sculpting’ and ‘painting’ so put a ban on vacation time for his assistants.
Inevitable his collages were initially dismissed by the wider art
community and only began to receive recognition when a new wave of
young emerging artists, notably Jackson Pollock, cited the old master as

His method of conception, installation and collaboration was a
profoundly contemporary way of creating new art that remains relevant
to the present day. What makes Matisse all the more ground-breaking is
that he was able to dream up visions of curvaceous pictorial depth whilst
cutting in to colour long before other artists. During a time when there
was still a formality and a sense of formula to art, Matisse made beautiful
and bold shapes in an explosion of colour and creativity.
The modern master currently features in a ‘once in a lifetime’

the Tate Modern in London the glorious display runs until the beginning
of September, after which it will move to the Museum Of Modern Art
private owners.
TROWBRIDGE GALLERY has a comprehensive collection of vintage
prints dating from 1954, featuring some of Matisse’s most recognisable
works, the blue nudes. The Nu-Bleu series of female bodies have a great
varying but distinguishable outline, the colour blue remaining a powerful
other collage classics such as L’escargot and La Gerbe, among others.

Framed vintage prints by Henri Matisse from TROWBRIDGE GALLERY

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Bridge for Design Summer 2014

For more information about TROWBRIDGE GALLERY, CLICK HERE

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