Henri Matisse
Artist/Culture
Henri Cartier-Bresson
(French, 1908–2004)
Date1944
Mediumgelatin silver print
Dimensions23.3 x 34.7 cm (9 3/16 x 13 11/16 in.)
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineEliza S. Paine Fund in memory of William R. and Frances T. C. Paine
Terms
Object number1969.67
Label TextMatisse (1869–1954)—along with Pablo Picasso—defined the course of avant-garde European art in the early twentieth century. Later in life, when this photograph was taken, the great painter was confined to a wheelchair. He turned to drawing, and the medium of gouaches découpés, or cut paper collage. In a process he called “painting with scissors,” he cut out forms from sheets of brightly-colored paper, and pasted them into simple, powerful, direct compositions.
Matisse and Cartier-Bresson remained friends. In 1952, the photographer published the book Images à la sauvette (The Decisive Moment), which included a portfolio of 126 images chronicling his work as a photojounalist across the globe. Matisse designed the cover for the book only two years before he died.
ProvenanceHenri Cartier-Bresson through Mrs. Helen Wright, New York, New YorkOn View
Not on view
