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The Philadelphia Museum of Art, in collaboration with the Musée de I’Oranperie in Paris and the Musée Matisse Nice, willpresent the first exhibition ever dedicated to the pivotal decadeof the 1930s in the art of Henri Matisse (18ó9—1954), one of the piants of twentieth-century art. Openinp first in Philadelphia,the only United States venue, the exhibition Matisse in the ì 930s will present more than 1 00 works, ranpinp from bothrenowned and rarely seen paintinps and sculptures, to drawinpsand prints, to illustrated books. It will also feature documentaryphotopraphs and films. The exhibition will be accompanied by a lavishly illustrated scholarly catalopue. Matthew Affron, Murieland Philip Berman Curator of Modern Art at the PhiladelphiaMuseum of Art; Cécile Debray, President of the Musée NationalPicasso-Paris; and Claudine Grammont, Director of the MuséeMatisse Nice, comprise the curatorial team.
Affron stated: “Because this transformative decade inMatisse’s career has never been treated in a standaloneexhibition before, visitors will have a rare opportunity toimmerse themselves in the very process through whichMatisse generated a new creative approach and outlook inthe later part of his career, while also witnessing the dramatically revitalized production that followed from his eventful visit to Philadelphia in 1930. Only through such an institutional partnership can we so vividly tell this story, as each of our collaborating museums is uniquely and deeplyconnected to Matisse. Between works on view at thePhiladelphia Museum of Art
and complementary holdings down the street at the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia this fall will be an especiallyexciting city in which to experience Matisse’s extraordinaryart.”
“Matisse spent most of his life in Nice, and Mediterranean splendor permeates his work,” added Claudine Grammont.“He came back from the U.S. to France with a broadenedvision of the world that had long-lasting effects, as the ’30s were rejuvenating for this pioneer of modernity. A newMatissian ’map’ was drawn with the commission of a mural for the Barnes Foundation: it was consequently between Philadelphia and Nice that the main axis for these decisiveyears runs. The Musée Matisse in Nice, whose collection isrich in art linked to this period of creation, is particularly happyto collaborate with the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Musée de I’Orangerie to demonstrate the powerful renewal in the artist’s work during this key period.”
Cécile Debray said: “the Dance (1931—33), Matisse’sdecoration for the Barnes Foundation, is closely linked to theartist’s return to a modernist style in the 1930s. These years,when Matisse was inspired by his trips to the United States,when he was promoted in Paris by the
journal Cartiers d’art, faced off with Picasso at the PaulRosenberg gallery while his radical pre— World War Ipaintings were seen at Paul Guillaume’s, assisted the organization of different retrospective exhibitions, and workedon his art in Nice, made history as the crucible of a fascinatingmodernist transformation.
“Our three museums in Philadelphia, Paris, and Nice offer aspecial, much-anticipated opportunity for a new and unparalleled exhibition about this decade. Above all, thecollaboration marks a friendship. I would like to saluteClaudine Grammont and Matthew Affron, my friends andcolleagues.”
A Pivotal Decade
In 1930, Matisse had achieved significant internationalrenown, and yet he found himself in a deep creative slump. Adozen years before, he had switched his base of operationsfrom Paris to Nice. There he had focused on the theme of female models in elaborately decorated studio setups bathedin the unvarying, crystalline light of the Mediterranean. Facedwith the seductiveness of that body of work, some criticswondered whether Matisse, who had been
such a radical force in modern painting, had lost hisexperimental edge. By the later 1920s, Matissehimself had developed second thoughts, and for acouple years he produced nearly no new paintings.The turning point came in the fall of 1930, when theartist visited the Barnes Foundation in the suburbs ofPhiladel phia, and received the commission for a three-part mural, the Dance.
Matisse used this commission to turn his work around. Afterward,he returned to easel painting with new procedures and a newapproach. He started using photography systematically to documentthe cumulative process of building his motifs and to test his ownreactions as he went along. He also began using pre-colored cutpapers to plan his compositions; this procedure led him away from the illusion of modeling and deep space and toward a style of flattones and bold shapes that gave his compositions of the 1930s anew impact.
Matisse in the930s will assemble a rich array of works from public and private collections in the United States and Europe. It will explore the remarkable changes in style that followed as Matisse discovered different ways of workingacross the mediums of easel and decorative painting, sculpture,printmakinp, drawing, and the illustrated book. The exhibitionwill demonstrate that what he achieved durinp the 1930srepresented nothing less than a total revitalization of his artisticvision.F
