In the late 1940s, Henri Matisse turned to paper as his primary medium and scissors as his chief implement, introducing a radically new art form that came to be called the cut-out. To make cut-outs, his studio assistants painted paper with vibrant gouache, which Matisse then cut into different shapes in varying sizes. Using pins, he arranged the forms into lively compositions that were later mounted. This suite of galleries features works that Matisse realized using this method, one he alternately described as “cutting directly into vivid color” or “drawing with scissors.”
As Matisse developed this practice, the cut-outs progressed from intimate to expansive in scale and ranged from decorative to abstract. Originally, the artist used paper motifs to design works ultimately realized in other mediums, including the illustrated book Jazz (1947) and the stained-glass window Christmas Eve (1952). Soon, the cut-outs became autonomous artworks, such as the monumental Memory of Oceania (1953), which straddles reference and abstraction. Experimenting with the technique’s environmental possibilities, Matisse covered the walls of his dining room with paper forms to create The Swimming Pool (1952). After being shown for five years, this light-sensitive work is on view for its last months before being deinstalled for multiple years—a departure that has sparked this celebratory installation. Initially derided by one critic as an “agreeable distraction,” the cut-outs are today considered the culminating innovation of a restlessly inventive artist.
Organized by Samantha Friedman, Curator, with Rachel Rosin, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Drawings and Prints.
