"Art in Balance: Matisse & His Illustrated Works" at the Naples Art Institute

Who doesn't love the art of Henri Matisse? His work conveys so much emotion, whether it's a colorful image like "The Dance" or  "simple" line drawings like his work for "The Portuguese Letters." And then there's the story of how he overcame adversity, shifting his primary artistic practice from paintings on canvas to cut-outs when his surgery for abdominal cancer rendered him wheelchair bound. A recent exhibit at the Naples Art Institute showcased Matisse's work in the field of printmaking. It was terrific. 

"The Dance" (1938) (Lithograph in colors)

Over the course of his lifetime, Matisse created more than 800 prints using techniques that included lithographs, linocuts, woodcuts, etchings and aquatints. The details of the various processes are lost to me. Suffice it to say that they are much more complicated than you might think and that he was a master of them all. Matisse also collaborated with a number of publishers on book illustration projects. Perhaps the most notable was his "Jazz Portfolio" created for Greek publisher Teriade. It is fabulous. But first, let's talk about "The Dance." 

Anyone who's been to the Museum of Modern Art in New York has seen Matisse's "Dance I." Technically, it was a study for his painting "Dance" that lives at The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. But there's a third version of "The Dance" that's strikingly different. 

"Monsieur Loyal", "Icarus"and
"The Sword Swaller" from "Jazz" (1947)

Almost 30 years after Matisse created "Dance I," he made a lithograph of the iconic image specifically for publication. This version -- with the blood red bodies and black background -- is quite dramatic and has a somewhat demonic feel to me. All the better to grab the attention of readers sitting comfortably in their chairs at home.  

The first step was to make a gouache cut-out of the image. Ten printing stages later, the lines and colors had been layered onto the page, and the lithograph was final. It was then was printed as a double page image in Verve Magazine. Click here to see the work from the magazine, complete with a crease down the middle. The fold feels kind of blashphemous to me, but life is full of trade-offs. For more on the better-known versions of "The Dance," click here.  

The exhibit included the entire portfolio of 20 lithographs that comprise Matisse's "Jazz" series. He was 74 years old when he began the project. On their face, the images are inspired by the circus and and mythology and fairy tales. Matisse himself wrote the accompanying text. 

Matisse created these works in the aftermath of WWII, and you can see the impact of the war on this series if you know how to look at them. Luckily, I came upon this short video in which an expert from the Met discusses the series. Take, for instance, the iconic image entitled "Icarus." Most people associate this work with the mythological tale of the boy who flew so close to the sun that his homemade beeswax wings melted and he fell to his death. The tale is considered a warning not to exhibit hubris. But coming on the heels of WWII, the splashes of yellow might be viewed as exploding shells and the red circle interpreted as a shot through the figure's heart. I love artworks with multiple levels of meaning. For more on "Jazz" (and to see the entire series), click here. 

"Blue Nude XI" (1952) 

I'll leave you with a work from Matisse's "Blue Nude" series. Once again, there's a great story behind these works. The series was inspired by his painting of the same name. The painting, in turn, was inspired by a sculpture the artist had been creating that shattered during the carving process. The original "Blue Nude" was not exactly well received. In fact, it was burned in effigy when it was exhibited at the Armory Show of 1913. Art lovers apparently considered the painting vulgar and were not into Matisse's choice of somewhat unconventional colors. Wow. 

Happily, Matisse continued with the subject matter, building on the concept of a pieced-together figure, in spite of the uproar. Matisse's "Blue Nude II" is perhaps the best known of the series, but I prefer this version. It's reminiscent of a yoga pose I'm working to perfect. There's nothing like a good back crack. To see the two works side by side in a publication by Verve, click here. 

Spending a concentrated amount of time with Matisse's prints was a treat. While it's a bit of a hike to the Naples Art Institute, it was well worth the journey. And if you want more on the artist and his cut-outs, click here to watch a segment from the CBS Sunday Morning Show. Happy viewing!