Jazz - Hardcover

Matisse, Henri

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 080761291X ISBN 13: 9780807612910

Publisher: George Braziller Inc., 1992

Synopsis

This selection from Matisse’s masterpiece is available again to coincide with the major Cut-Outs exhibitions at The Tate and MoMA in 2014.

Late in his life, confined to a chair or bed, Matisse transformed a simple technique into a medium for the creation of a major art. “I have attained a form filtered to its essentials.” Cutting dynamic shapes from painted paper, Matisse created his images. While producing pieces for Jazz, the artist used a large brush to write notes to himself on construction paper. The simple visual appearance of the words pleased Matisse, and he suggested using his reflective handwritten thoughts in juxtaposition with the images. The original edition of Jazz was an artist’s book, printed in a limited quantity. This selection from the original is an exquisite suite of color plates and text that, like the music it was named for, was invented in a spirit of improvisation and spontaneity. These magnificent cut-outs of pure color celebrate the radiance and emotional intensity of the artist’s oeuvre.  Full color illustrations throughout

About this title

From the Back Cover:

With this book you hold an artist's spirit in your hands. Each page reveals deeply felt ideas, years of dedication to art and its craft, innate sensitivity to visual stimuli and their perfect organization for the most exhilarating, most satisfying result. The precise equilibrium of these elements in Jazz is Matisse's unique achievement. The dark rhythms, roiling counterpoint, happy staccatos, and jolting dissonances of this Jazz will sound forever. Matisse has taught the eye to hear.

About the Author:

Henri Matisse (1869–1954) was a painter, draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor who helped to define the revolutionary developments in the visual arts in the opening decades of the twentieth century.

Riva Castleman was the Director of Prints and Illustrated Books at the MoMA for nearly twenty years, as well as Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs.

About this edition

• Publisher: George Braziller Inc.
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 080761291X
• ISBN 13: 9780807612910
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 96