Tate Modern is showing a huge Henri Matisse retrospective. I always liked his work: it appealed to the art student in me, enormous slabs of colour, cut out and pasted down with such exuberance. This show contains all his greatest hits, vibrant with flat gouache colour.
The colours and shapes move and dazzle as you walk past them. Up close the patience of flat colour being laid down and the precision and delicate composition is evident. Each room fizzes with energy, unfolding stunning giant tableaux.
A compilation wall where every piece talks to each other, cheerfully social. Making the most of it before they are scattered to the four corner of the earth.
The famous blue figures are all movement and sinew. The composition is taut and balanced. Cut paper and gouache, gradient clearly seen with a softer wash.
The simplicity of two colours, jarring against each other because they are tonally the same but because they are from different parts of the spectrum, they co-exist beautifully.
Icarus crashes to earth, his dreams destroyed along with his wings.
What a nice exhibit and how fun to take the pictures with the girls trotting by. I wonder what was their hurry. I do like his art but also feel it sort of resembles wrapping paper. I would enjoy a gift wrapped in that. Hope you’re having a fun summer!