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Matisse: Radical Invention,
1913–1917
July 18–October 11, 2010
At Museum of Modern Art
(Henri
Matisse Bio)
www.moma.org
11 West 53rd Street
NY, NY 10019
Paul Jackson, MoMA Press
Dr. Roberta E. Zlokower
September 27, 2010
(See
a 2003 Review of Matisse and Picasso)
Today was a rainy Monday, and the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)
was mobbed. Very few New York cultural events exist on Mondays,
except for the opera, and MOMA is a widely popular all-day
event. I began just as planned at The Modern, MOMA’s gorgeous
new restaurant, also accessible at 9 West 53rd Street. Thomas
Caron, Manager, was quite warm and attentive, as was the
bustling wait staff. I ordered Tomato Gazpacho Soup and
Upside Down Tuna Tarte, plus Lillet on ice. After my elegant
lunch at The Modern Bar, the atriums were filled with visitors.
I immediately headed for Matisse: Radical Invention,
an exhibit that originated at the Art Institute of Chicago,
after five years of collaboration between the Art Institute
and Museum of Modern Art...
This magnetizing exhibit (obviously I’m a huge fan of Matisse,
1869-1954) focuses on five years of his expansive career,
1913-1917, between his return from Morocco and his arrival
in Nice. Thus, two major works in this exhibit are Bathers
by a River (1909–10, 1913, 1916–17) and The Moroccans
(1915–16). Matisse’s works during this period were known
for deep black and grey outlines, unique characterization,
geometric shapes and sharply drawn edges. The 110-plus paintings,
drawings, sculptures, and prints by Matisse are expanded
by works of Matisse’s contemporaries, many of whom inspired
his work, such as Paul Cezanne’s Three Bathers. Matisse
spent many years subsequently, creating his own paintings,
decorative panels, and sculptures from plaster casts of
“bathers”, such as Bathers by a River and Back
I, II, III, and IV. (Assisted by MOMA Press Notes).
Matisse’s time in Spain and Morocco were instrumental in
the textile ornamentations and bright colors, and in 1913,
after his last trip to Morocco, Matisse employed a more
formal structure, evidenced in The Blue Window and
Flowers. In 1914, in Paris, Matisse energetically
produced twelve paintings with a strong Cubist influence.
Interior with Goldfish is one example. Simple geometric
forms, often redone multiple times, were apparent. His
View of Notre Dame, which Matisse could see from
his window, was filled with blue. His portraits emphasized
deep lines for female curves, e.g., Portrait of Yvonne
Landsberg. Cubism was also ever present, e.g., in
Branch of Lilacs. WWI briefly interrupted Matisse’s
pace, between 1914-1915, before he remade La Desserte
into Still Life after Jan Davidsz. de Heem's "La Desserte".
(Assisted by MOMA Press Notes).
The overlapping and scraping of layers of paint was his
mode in 1915-1916, and The Italian Woman, with the
model Laurette, sparked the creation of over 50 works in
one year. Matisse practiced taking a painted likeness and
shaping the portrait into an abstract image of that model,
over and over. During these five years, Matisse also delved
into printmaking, with a collection of lithographs, drypoints,
and etchings as a result. Matisse used funds from the sale
of these prints to aid the French War effort. The year 1916
was known for major war battles, but Matisse threw himself
into his work, with The Moroccans and Bathers
by a River, and he infused these masterpieces with dark
divisions and visible layers of “re-worked” modifications.
(Assisted by MOMA Press Notes).
Also, in 1916, Matisse worked on still lifes, e.g., Bowl
of Oranges, with heavy layers of paint and thinly layered
shadows, all merging with sharp segments of light. In
The Window, he emphasizes the strength of the emerging
sunlight. Matisse returned to his Bathers and
Back series, plus The Piano Lesson, with Matisse’s
son, Pierre at the piano in his own living room. His
Bathers by a River now became filled with abstracted
figures and sharp geometric lines. (Assisted by MOMA Press
Notes). I found the bare outlines of a chair in The Window,
the fanciful cubist shapes and black-on-pink in Moroccans,
and the bright blues and greens of interior merging with
landscape views in Window, among many memorable images,
to rivet the eye and transport the imagination. Check out
www.moma.org to plan
your visit, and
be sure to
stop for lunch The Modern.
MOMA Busy Lobby
on a Rainy Monday
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
MOMA Atrium
on a Rainy Monday
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Wait
Staff at The Modern
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Tomato Gazpacho Soup
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Upside Down Tuna Tarte
with Fennel, Japanese Cucumber, Aioli
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Thomas Caron, Manager,
The Modern
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
MOMA Atrium
on a Rainy Monday
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Entrance to Matisse:
Radical Invention 1913-1917
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954)
"Interior with Goldfish". 1914
Oil on canvas
Musée National d'Art Moderne/
Centre de Création Industrielle,
Centre Pompidou, Paris.
Bequest, Baroness Eva Gourgaud, 1965
Courtesy of Museum of Modern Art
Henri Matisse painting
"Bathers by a River", May 13, 1913.
Photograph by Alvin Langdon Coburn.
Archives, Int. Museum of Photography
at George Eastman House, Rochester, NY
Courtesy of Museum of Modern Art
Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954).
"The Window", 1916.
Oil on canvas
The Detroit Institute of Arts,
City of Detroit Purchase.
© 2010 Succession H. Matisse/
Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Courtesy of Museum of Modern Art
Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954).
"Portrait of Yvonne Landsberg", 1914.
Oil on canvas
Philadelphia Museum of Art,
Louise & Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950.
© 2010 Succession H. Matisse/
Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Courtesy of Museum of Modern Art
Henri Matisse.
"The Moroccans".
Issy-les-Moulineaux, late 1915, fall 1916.
Oil on canvas
The Museum of Modern Art, NY
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel A. Marx
© 2010 Succession H. Matisse/
Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Courtesy of Museum of Modern Art
Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954)
"The Blue Window".
Issy-les-Moulineaux, summer 1913
Oil on canvas
The Museum of Modern Art, NY
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Fund
© 2010 Succession H. Matisse/
Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Courtesy of Museum of Modern Art
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