Through his mind-blowing colours and large textured canvases, discover the infinite creativity and infectious energy of Henri Matisse, the artist who never stopped creating art. His vivid colour palette and fluid drawing brought a new dimension of modernity to nudes, landscapes and interior scenes.

The joie de vivre

The vivid colours and simple forms of a modern master

Henri Matisse's (1869-1954) work reflects a relentless reliance on the power of radiant colours and simple forms. Although he became famous mainly for his paintings, Matisse also worked in drawing, sculpture, lithography, stained glass and collage.And when his advanced age prevented him from standing to paint, he developed the technique of cut-outs, a new visual language based on cut-outs of painted paper.
The subject matter of his paintings was often conventional: nudes, portraits and figures in landscapes, oriental and other interior scenes. But his bold handling of colour and fluidity of draughtsmanship secured him a place among the masters of the 20th century. It was Matisse's palette in particular that fuelled the modern imagination. With his vivid blues, amethyst purples and egg yolk yellows, as well as many other colours, he freed his work from the corset of a meticulous representation of reality and instead sought a vital harmony. He often used music as an inspiration or analogy for his works.
From large printed canvases to simple, delicate portraits, this book presents Matisse's entire creative range, from his early forays into Fauvism to his later projects, such asJazzy the Rosary Chapel in Vence (southern France).

About the author

Volkmar Essersers was born in 1944. He studied art history, archaeology and the German language in Bonn, Munich and Berlin. In 1972 he received his doctorate with a work on the sculptor Johann Friedrich Drake. For many years he was curator of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, where he organised exhibitions on Paul Klee, Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst and Jackson Pollock, among other artists. Essers has also published numerous essays and books on 19th and 20th century art.

Publisher: Taschen