The Musée départemental Matisse devotes an exhibition to the exceptional donation by the Matisse family of a group of 443 paper cut-outs not used in Henri Matisse’s finished works.

Starting from this donation, alongside works from the collection of the Musée départemental Matisse and international loans, the exhibition treats the incredible adventure of gouached paper cut-outs begun by the artist with Jazz in 1943, which reached its summit with the conception of the Chapelle du Rosaire in Vence in 1948. This donation provides the opportunity to trace the origins  and reveal the invention of a technique at the heart of a pictoral revolution.

The exhibition also makes it possible to compare decorative works that Matisse conceived in stained glass, ceramics, books, and textiles with their original paper cut-out maquettes. It follows the artist’s process from his earliest creations up to large paper cut-outs, such as Vine of 1953, which is conserved in the museum’s collection.

An exceptional donation of 443 gouached, paper cut-outs not used by Henri Matisse in his works.  

This is one of the most exceptional donations made to the museum since the Tériade collection. Matisse’s paper cut-outs are rare and fragile. For his compositions, Matisse cut seaweed, palm trees, birds, or flowers directly into the color of the gouached paper in a far greater number than he used to create the wall panels or book covers conceived through this new invention. Thus, the shapes not chosen by the artist for his compositions have remained with the painter’s descendants and have been given today to the two Matisse museums – that at Le Cateau-Cambrésis and that in Nice.

Exhibition curator: Patrice DEPARPE, Deputy curator Musée Matisse