In the early 1940s renowned French painter Henri Matisse was diagnosed with abdominal cancer. A botched surgery left him bed and chair bound. His beloved medium of painting suddenly became an immense challenge.
While convalescing in his Venice home, he swapped his paintbrush for a pair of scissors and began creating paper collages. He cut shapes from sheets of paper painted with gouache, and with the help of assistants arranged the shapes in inventive, expressive ways.
The works ranged from small color lithographs such as Blue Nudes to room scale installations, sometimes inspired by places he could no longer visit, such as Oceania, the Sky.
Eventually called cut-outs, this body of work became some of his most groundbreaking art.
Matisse’s creativity was indestructible.
