Matisse: Radical Invention 1913-1917 - Art Institute of Chicago Exhibit

Henri Matisse. Bathers by a River 1909–10, 1913, 1916–17. Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection, 1953.158. © 2010 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY.

"It has bothered me all my life that I don't paint like anyone else." 
 - Henri Matisse

"Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913–1917 examines what is without question the most innovative, momentous, and yet little-studied time in the artist’s long career. Nearly 120 of his most ambitious and experimental paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints from the period are on view. Matisse himself acknowledged the significance of these years when he identified two paintings, Bathers by a River and The Moroccans, as among his most pivotal. These monumental canvases from the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, inspired the collaborative work of this exhibition and serve as major touchstones within it. This is the first exhibition to offer an in-depth investigation of Matisse’s art from this time, revealing information uncovered through extensive new art-historical, archival, and technical research."  - Art Institute of Chicago web site.

Link Matisse, Radical Invention 1913-1917, Art Institute of Chicago, March 20 - June 20, 2010

Matisse - The Dance, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

The Dance, Matisse, Oil/Canvas, 260 cm × 391 cm (100 in × 150 in), 1909/1910

The Dance by Matisse is considered by scholars to be a defining moment for Matisse and modern art. There are two versions. The preliminary version hangs in the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, USA. The final version hangs in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.

"The pair of panels known as 'The Dance and Music' (also in the Hermitage) are amongst Matisse's most important - and most famous - works of the period 1908 to 1913. They were commissioned in 1910 by one of the leading Russian collectors of French late 19th and early 20th-century art, Sergey Shchukin. Until the Revolution of 1917, they hung on the staircase of his Moscow mansion." - Hermitage Museum

Link The Dance, Full Commentary, Hermitage Museum

Link The Dance (Preliminary Version), Commentary, MoMa

Link Hermitage Museum Web Site

Link MoMa Web Site

Henri Matisse: Letter to Henry Clifford

In 1948, Henri Matisse wrote a letter to Henry Clifford expressing concerns about how young painters might perceive his upcoming exhibit. Write your response to his letter.

Link

Link Project Arts