Henri Matisse - Drawing with Scissors: Masterpieces from the Late Years (Art & Design) Book

Although Henri Matisse's paintings and drawings are some of the most revered in the art world, his cut-outs are widely believed to represent the culmination of his artistic career. This elegantly produced volume presents all aspects of Matisse's cut-outs, from the early models for Jazz to the large-scale works that dominated his final creative period. When Jazz, Matisse's revolutionary handmade book of paper cut-outs, was published in the early 1940s, it was considered a dramatic new step for the artist, who had already blazed new ground as the founder of the Fauvist movement. In his paintings Matisse had long been working toward a goal of a perfect synthesis of line and color. By putting scissor to colored paper, he was able to refine his technique, and he came to see the cut-out as his primary artistic medium in his late career. This collection of reproductions and critical essays offers a chance to appreciate the full spectrum of Matisse's work in this medium, and presents fascinating new discoveries about their connection to his earliest works, methods, philosophies and vision of paradise. This new look at one of Matisse's most creatively fertile periods examines an oeuvre of visionary power, which today seems more contemporary than ever.Read More