Jazz
Artist: Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954)
Author: Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954)
Publisher: Tériade, Paris
Printer: pochoirs: Edmond Vairel, [s.l.]
text: [Draeger Frères, Paris]
Date: 1947
Dimensions:
Portfolio: H: 26 1/4 in. (667 mm); W: 17 1/2 in. (444 mm); Depth: 3/4 in. (19 mm).
Leaf (untrimmed): H: 25 1/2 in. (648 mm); W: 16 5/8 in. (422 mm).
Medium: Reproduction: line block reproduction of brush sketches of the pochoir prints and handwritten titles (key to the plates).
Text: letterpress (typeface: Deberny & Peignot Garamont capitals).
Paper: Arches cream wove.
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Gift of Molly and Walter Bareiss
Object number: 1985.85A-V
Label Text:Finding it difficult to paint while recovering from surgery in 1941, Henri Matisse found a new way to channel his drive to create: he used scissors to cut shapes from paper painted with gouache (opaque watercolor). He pinned the shapes up on the wall of his studio, rearranging them until satisfied with the composition.
Matisse used this technique, which he called “drawing with scissors,” to produce the images for the circus-themed book Jazz beginning in 1943. Instead of reproducing the cutouts as lithographs (a process that did not satisfactorily capture the vivid colors of the gouache-painted paper), Matisse decided on the pochoir technique, in which thick ink was applied to paper through stencils cut in the shapes of his designs. The eye-popping result is today recognized as one of the most important—and most beautiful—artists’ books ever produced.
The title Jazz likely comes from the improvisational and “syncopated” nature of Matisse’s handwritten text, which explores the artist’s thoughts on art and life in an intensely intimate, often rambling way.
Matisse used this technique, which he called “drawing with scissors,” to produce the images for the circus-themed book Jazz beginning in 1943. Instead of reproducing the cutouts as lithographs (a process that did not satisfactorily capture the vivid colors of the gouache-painted paper), Matisse decided on the pochoir technique, in which thick ink was applied to paper through stencils cut in the shapes of his designs. The eye-popping result is today recognized as one of the most important—and most beautiful—artists’ books ever produced.
The title Jazz likely comes from the improvisational and “syncopated” nature of Matisse’s handwritten text, which explores the artist’s thoughts on art and life in an intensely intimate, often rambling way.
Not on view
In Collection(s)