Matisse is one of my favourite artists and the cut outs he made at the end of his career are a big inspiration to me. There’s a huge exhibition of his work in Paris which is on until the end of July and is incredible. I went to it at the beginning of the month. Here are six key things that I took away from it:
1. Colour as feeling
In his use of colour, Matisse ‘invites the viewer to feel rather than identify’ (exhibition audioguide). The colours are so bold and surprising, creating heat and emotion. I love that the line of the figures is in orange to increase the intensity by blending them in with the background. It would be so much starker a contrast without the line.
2. Cut paper typography
Seeing these cut outs in real life made me realise that Matisse crafted forms using lots of smaller shapes. The layering of the collage adds texture and feels like a celebration of the handmade - not perfect and with pin and glue marks. It’s as if he has just finished the picture. You can still feel his presence.
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