Product Description
The life of the French painter, Henri Matisse, arranged in vignettes suggested by an alphabetical sequence of French words that focus on a key element of his life or work. ... Read more

Product Description
Focusing on Henri Matisse, this is one of an illustrated series which provides accounts of the lives of individual artists, professional and personal anecdotes, and concise definitions of cultural and social movements that shaped their work. Matisse, the son of a grain merchant, trained as a lawyer, but while recuperating from appendicitis as a young man discovered a passion for painting. The book examines his hallucinatingly colourful interiors, his lounging harem girls and finny goldfish, and his cut-outs and joyous dancing figures. ... Read more

Product Description
First published in 1947, Henri Matisse's collection of paper cutouts represented a culmination of the artist's striving to combine his love of form and colour. To create Jazz, Matisse carefully arranged twenty cut-outs as compositions. Like the musical genre they celebrate, the works are at once spontaneous and unified, improvisational yet clearly orchestrated. Serving as a complement to these blasts of color are messages, in Matisse's own handwriting, of his ideas and inspirations. The resulting book is one of the twentieth century's most significant works of art. Katrin Wiethege's introductory essay delves into the artist's method of creating the cut-outs in his studio as well as the painstaking process of printing the book itself. Exquisitely made to resemble the color, printing technique, and paper of the first hand-crafted edition of the book, this volume features Matisse'sunforgettable images and words in all their original splendor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good, but could have been better.
First, the good news. The book itself is beautifully printed. Pages are heavy stock - I've seen flimsier business cards. Color is rich, and only one page had any registration problem that I could see. This is more than just a monograph about the artist, it reproduces a book by the artist (and I'm grateful for the English translation). I have a passion for primary sources -Matisse isn't among my favorite artists, but I'll listen when an undeniable master speaks.

Unfortunately, two major features of the book interfere with my full enjoyment of it. First, the original Jazz interleaved images with text in Matisse's own hand. A little of the hand-written text has been reproduced, but certainly not all of it. The original relationship of text and image has been lost. Second, and related, is that the translation appears in the back of the book. It's only a minor nuisance to flip back and forth between the book's real content and back matter. I had real problems, though, with the fact that the back matter gives the whole of Matisse's text, but the main content does not. The translated part gives no indication of what it provides that the reproduction doesn't, so it was a "Where's Waldo" exercise, trying to resynchronize my reading with viewing of the images. Perhaps economic decisions about printing forced the omissions. I can still wish that different tradeoffs had been used in the choice, or that the book's organization could have compensated better for the losses.

A final point, and a relatively minor one, is that Matisse provided a visual index or table of contents, showing a thumbnail sketch of each work in the book. I was fascinated by Matisse's own view of what mattered in each composition. The way it's reproduced looks a bit like a ransom note, however. Each annotation has been cut out into its own little box and laid out according to the book designer's idea of proper organization. Perhaps there is good reason for this; maybe the thumbnails would have been illegibly small if the page were reproduced to scale. Still, I would have liked to see the original page's organization, even if the reproduction also showed the sketches at readable size.

Despite the book's flaws, it seems to be an adequate presentation of a coherent body of compositions. Warts and all, I looking forward to enjoying the book over and over. ... Read more

Product Description
With narratives that will entertain art lovers of all ages, these two new board books are a fun way to introduce young children to fine art. The sleepy trees, golden haystacks, and juicy fruits of In the Garden with Van Gogh will delight little ones. And they’ll love spending A Magical Day with Matisse in a world full of music, color, bobbing sailboats, and tickled toes. Playful rhyming texts accompany the artists’ timeless paintings in these little masterpieces. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Imagination and Art
The rhyming text of this book encourages children's imaginations.(No actual "magic" is involved.)The illustrations are all reproductions of actual Matisse pieces, which are, themselves, vibrant and imaginative.(The titles of the pieces are listed at the back of the book for those of use who are less familiar with his work.)There are a couple of nude paintings in this book.They are stylized and not anatomically-correct but, of course, use your own judgment as to whether this is appropriate for the child the book is intended for.

lovely book
I love these series of books.My daughter instantly loved this book and she's only 15 mos. old.I started reading "In the garden with Van Gogh" when she was 6 mos. old.She loves them both now.The rhymes are very cute as well.

Nudity?
It's nothing your kid hasn't seen before. My niece, she's thrilled there are other people who run around nakie, just like she (and most toddlers) prefers to do.

Nudity Not Appropriate for My Infant Son
I love all 5 of the books in this series, but I just returned this one with the Matisse artwork.

I just felt that pictures of a bunch of BUCK NAKED PEOPLE sitting around playing instruments and a group of BUCK NAKED PEOPLE dancing around in a circle just weren't appropriate for my infant son's collection of books right now (well, maybe EVER).I wish someone had told me BEFORE I had purchased it . . . it's more than just 'bobbing sailboats' and 'tickled toes' . . .

Very Cute
Just the thing if you want to spend some time reading something that is both cute and educational! ... Read more

Product Description
The devotion of Henri Matisse to the human figure led him to make portraits of many different sitters--members of his family, fellow artists, professionals in other fields, patrons, and various others. At key points in his career, he was also an obsessive observer of himself, creating intense series of self-portraits. This pioneering book, with some 200 stunning illustrations, offers the first comprehensive account of Matisse's activity as a maker of portraits and self-portraits.Matisse scholar John Klein goes beyond standard approaches to portraiture that focus on questions of likeness and expression of character. He considers the transaction that produces a portrait--a transaction between the artist and the sitter (even when the sitter is oneself) that is social as much as artistic. Klein investigates the various social contexts of Matisse's sitters and finds that differences among these contexts produced different kinds of portraits and self-portraits with different goals. This was in part due to the personal and social identity of the sitter, but partly also to Matisse's self-perception with respect to the sitter and his goal of engaging the genre as a mode of personal expression. Klein also addresses the vexing question of whether depictions of hired models can be considered as portraits and concludes that they lack the social context that is necessary to portraiture. Through the psychological and contextual examination of Matisse's portraits and self-portraits, Klein throws new light on an important body of work by this influential artist. The author also discusses the portrait practice of some of Matisse's contemporaries--Picasso, Kirchner, Bonnard, Vallotton, and Boldini--to develop fresh insights into the status of portraiture within twentieth-century art as a whole. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A scholarly yet handsome volume
Matisse Portraits is a serious discussion with extensive text of the artist's work in that genre, which in this instance includes self-portraiture and family groups. Following the Introduction the book is divided into seven chapters. Firstly the writer explores "the problems posed by portraiture of other individuals to an artist who was resolute that the goal of his work was self-expression". The next three chapters concern themselves with the move from private to public self-expression: Chapter 2 deals with Matisse's early portraits; Chapter 3 with portraits of is family and how he manages the treatment of those with whom he has close emotional ties; Chapter 4 with portraiture beyond the immediate family but not yet public, those who were sympathetic to his efforts.

Chapters 4 and 5 consider the public aspect of his portraiture and self-portraiture; firstly his patronage and portrait commission, then the artist's self-portraiture at a time when he achieved a level of fame. The final Chapter the writer considers "the phenomenon of the portrait-like depiction of a hired model in Matisse's work in answer to the problems that portraiture's social dimension posed".

The book closes with a section under the heading "Conclusion - Signing Off: The End of the Portrait". There are extensive Notes; a Select Bibliography; and an Index.

This is a scholarly yet very readable study; the writer discusses Matisse's work at length, and the individual paintings in detail, drawing comparisons, occasionally with the work of other artists.

It is illustrated throughout with around 200 illustrations, the vast majority in full colour; those in black and white are mostly monotone drawings. The images vary in size and include the quite small, but there are many good sized pictures of a quarter, half or full-page, with a few full-page bleed images, invariable of a detail from a painting. The images run with the text and most usefully appear alongside the relevant passages.

This is an impressive well laid-out book printed on quality paper; a most handsome volume.

More than artbook - it is an art appreciation book
Matisse Portraits by John Klein (associate professor of art history at the University of Missouri-Columbia) is a comprehensive survey and analysis of the artwork of Henri Matisse, who especially devoted himself to human figure and portraits of sitters. Klein goes a step further to provide an in-depth, scholarly commentary upon individual works and the aggregate body of Matisse's portraits. Filled with black-and-white and color illustrations of Matisse's artwork, Matisse Portraits is more than artbook - it is an art appreciation book, filled with discourse and thoughtful analysis. Highly recommended for academic and art school collections, as well as true art aficionados with an interest in the work of Henri Matisse. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Perfect Calendar...for me
I love this calendar. The reproductions are vivid -colors bright-paper fine and
the dates boxes are big enough for notes

Perfect for our "Year of Matisse"
The Art Teachers at our school are teaching a unit about Matisse to all the grade levels this year and this is perfect to go along with that idea.

Colorful but not office-appropriate
Wanted a colorful wall calendar for my office.This has all the color and brightness you could want.However, you can't tell that there is a whole nude as the artwork for one month.It simply isn't office appropriate. Would be good for home, but that was not my purpose. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

information of the radical approach of H.M.
In March 2010 ,the Art Institute of Chicago will have an exhibition on: Matisse/Radical Invention 1913-1917 .Matisse's work of this period is not hedonistic. The color of Morocco is not the most important factor of the work of this period (although the color of the place was inspirational)...it is geometric form.There is a relationship of form to "the Moroccans and the Bathers. Like "La Grand Jatte"(also owned by AIC) H.M. did a great many drawings and sketches as studies for the big canvas, during this period. Many are included in the book as well as an insightful,informed study of his ouevre in ink and graphite. The Art Institute of Chicago maybe the number two art museum in the U.S. but when it comes to early French modernism it is number one.That is because of Seurat and Matisse's two great masterpieces: La Grand Jatte and the Bathers.This book will climb in price and become more important in the Spring of 2010 because of the re-evaluation of Matisse from 1913-1917.The color reproductions here are very good ,but only ancillary to the important information on Matisse in this book.I visited the Matisse /radical Invention, yesterday 03/23/10. This book if you can obtain one will take the place of the catalogue for the show of the same name, it is a very fine show!! There are many prints and drawings as well as the paintings among the best Matisses in the U.S.I would have loved to see the" Red Studio" and" Moroccan Cafe" Moroccan Cafe is in this book and is a work that is well worth studying.3/24/10

Tangier hosts a high point of Fauvism
This is a first quality book published by the National Gallery of Art that documents Henri Matisse's visits to Morocco (mostly Tangier) in 1912-13 where the Fauvist phase of his artistic career fully flowered.While the illustrations of his paintings from these visits are breathtakingly beautiful, the documentation and commentary on Matisse's interactions with compatiot painters like Marquet and Camoin are equally impressive.There are a number of letters between Matisse and his colleagues included in the book that explain in detail the former's reaction of the exotic environment and how it served to tickle his muse.This is a wonderful book that serves as both an illustrated chronicle of a great artist's significant formative period as well as a valuable art history document.

The book has 255 well-organized illustrations--50 in color--and includes works by a number of artists who worked in Morocco during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.The color plates are of excellent quality.

Simply gorgeous
One of the places that most inspired Matisse was Morocco, a country of huge contrasts, vivid colors and dramatic landscapes .
I missed the landmark exhibition for which this book served as the catalog, but I purchased it after vacationing in Morocco. Matisse's view of the country emphasizes the colors of Moroccan cities and landscapes -- intense orange-reds and azure bluesz. It is also informed and inspired by Moroccan design, which combines Mediterranean and Islamic elements to beautiful effect. ... Read more

Product Description
Henri Matisse:The Vence Chapel, The Archive of a Creation

Conversations and Correspondence with
Marie-Alain Couturier and
Louis-Bertrand Rayssiguier

Edited and introduced by
Marcel Billot

Henri Matisse devoted four years of his life to designing the Vence Chapel, his "crowning achievement," as he himself stated on several occasions. Though the circumstances which led to the creation of this unique building are well known--the project originated with Sister Jacques-Marie, who nursed the aging painter back to health after his brush with death in 1942--the story of the Chapel's construction has long remained shrouded in mystery.

Much of the material in this book is drawn from the Couturier Archives. The bulk of the archive consists of the notes of Brother Louis-Bertrand Rayssiguier, the young Dominican monk who drew the plan of the Chapel and worked closely with Matisse on all phases of its building and decorating. From December 1947 to June 1951, Rayssiguier met frequently with the artist and recorded their conversations verbatim. His notes allow the reader to follow day by day the unfolding of one of the supreme masterpieces of religious art in the twentieth century. Even more significantly, they give us a rare glimpse into the artist's private world. They chronicle his disappointments and his moments of elation, his habits and his foibles, his reactions to contemporary developments in the art world, as well as his deepest personal beliefs. Gifted with an unusually keen sense of observation, Rayssiguier shows us Matisse at work as well as Matisse relaxing in the intimacy of his own home.

Completing this invaluable record, the correspondence between Matisse and Father Marie-Alain Couturier, the Dominican priest at the forefront of the post-World War II movement to commission works of religious art from leading modern painters and sculptors, details the creation of the Chapel's most remarkable feature--Matisse's bold stained-glass windows. An expert on stained glass and the chief editor of L'Art sacre, an influential review devoted to religious art around the world, Courutier took care of all the logistical and technical matters relating to these great windows. The numerous letters he and the artist exchanged are in themselves a fascinating exchange on the art and the significance of modern stained glass.

This archive charts a unique journey to the heart of artistic creativity. The compilation of documents published here for the first time in English is abundantly illustrated with sketches by Matisse and photographic records that show the successive stages of the Chapel's completion.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Interesting,not a coffe table book
First, this is not a coffe table book. Though Illustarted, it is NOT a picture book.I mistakenly thought it so.The books dimensions are1.69 x 9.40 x 7.12 ,whic are that of a normal harcover book. That said, this is an interesting volume on the creation of the famous chapel at Vence. Matisse was ill, and a young nurse kept him company though the long bouts of insomnia accompanying his illness. Later, she joined the domincan sisters.Matisse felt a huge debt to this woman-later nun, and a serious of circumstances led to the creation of this magnificent chapel. There was a domincan friar,Fr. M.A Courtier,who after being stranded in the USA during WWII,set about bringing modern art together with the sacred.{he edited a journal called SACred art}. A young architect,Br. L.B. Rayssiguier, was designing a new chapel for the NUNS at Vence, and approached Matisse to ask his advice. The majority of this book is the correspondence between Matisse and Fr Courtier and Brother Rayssiguier. The photos show the chapel in many stages of development{though not nearly enough color photos of the remarkable stained glass windows, nor of the marvelous stations of the cross} Still, it was an interesting read,that 50 years ago, the giants of art were in competition to design great works of religious art,whatever their motives.Along with the Rothko chapel{a comparison drwan in the preface},this stands as a monument to a genius,and the letters bewteen Fr Coutrier and Matisse are filled with anecdotes and observations. The Menil Foundation has done an excellent job in the production of this volume. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Wonderful
Matisse was as good a sculptor as he was a painter - which is to say, a genius. His work is captured very effectively here in high quality images, in a large format book. It's as good as you can get without standing in front of the originals. There are drawings and paintings that relate to the sculptures, and there are a few images of the sculptures of Degas, Rodin, Maillol and others, which are also very beautiful. The text is also interesting and informative. I have plenty of excellent books on the works of Matisse - this is right up there with the best of them.

Great Book
A no nonsense book on the great sculpture of Matisse.
Lots of images, good printing and photography. Highly
recommended for professionals and the general art loving
public alike. ... Read more

Product Description
This exquisite volume opens the doors of Matisse's atelier to reveal the artist's most intimate work.

For Henri Matisse, drawing was an exercise as personal as it was essential to his art. Reproduced on elegant stock these black and white and gently colored sketches allow the viewer to appreciate the quality of Matisse's lines, their confidence and ease, as well as the intense relationship between artist and model. Matisse's joie de vivre, his love of beauty, and his fascination with the human body are everywhere in evidence in this lovely book that is a pleasure to hold. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This is a Straight Foreword Collection of Matisse's Erotic Sketches
Thirty-four sketches and an introduction by Norbert Wolf printed in a 64-page format make up this hardbound volume of the Prestel's "Erotic Sketchbook" series. The brief text introduction is only five pages in length and printed in English with another five pages devoted to the German translation. Despite it's brevity, the text is excellent and includes many quotes from Matisse about his art including the following: "I paint odalisques (female slaves or concubines in a harem) in order to paint the nude. Otherwise, how is the nude to be painted without being artificial? But also I saw they exist. I was in Morocco. I saw them."
Frankly I was somewhat disappointed in this book but not because the work wasn't up to par. I was simply expecting to see some erotic works that I was not already familiar with. Unfortunately for me, I was already aware of all of the thirty-four images included in the book. Since the originals are spread out all over the world, many in private collections, this volume at least gathers the various images together in one place for easy reference. The book is easily worth the cost for the serious Matisse admirer.
Wolf also tips the reader off to another book by Lydia Delektorskaja, who was Matisse's assistant and model for four years (1934-39). One of his paintings of her recently sold for $2.2 million dollars. Unfortunately, the only copy currently available of his model's 360 plus page story is rather expensive and the text is in French. Like many people I'll be looking for an English Edition of the book. ... Read more

Product Description
A brief biography of the modern French artist accompanies reproductions and analyses of several of his works. ... Read more

Product Description
464-pg. softcover; 151 half-tone reproductions. ... Read more

Product Description
Bright and playful close-ups of some of Henri Matisse's most celebrated collages encourage children to find the whale in Matisse's dove, the splash of milk in his star, and the rays of sunshine in a blue leaf. Oooh! Matisse turns art appreciation into a game and inspires young readers to see masterpieces in their own way. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Oooh!It is GREAT!
My twins are in 1st grade and during Art class the teacher talks about an artist and their work and then they create similar art. They are learning about Matisse this week. One of my twins saw the book and was so excited and told me all about him and that his name was Henri.She loved reading the book and plans to bring it to show her teacher. Bright colors and perfect for young readers.

Wonderful!!!
This book has inspired art appreciation at a young age for my nieces and nephews.The colors are amazingly vibrant and the story is engaging and playful.I have given this book as a gift to both toddlers and young readers and they have all truly enjoyed it. ... Read more

Product Description
This series provides pictures of the lives and works of some of the world's greatest artists and their influence on the world of art. Each title includes: reconstruction artwork of particular scenes from the artist's life; examples of the artist's work at various stages of their life with text to link their life and work; and the life story and photographs of the artist. This title focuses on the life and work of Henri Matisse. ... Read more

Product Description
The rare artistic and personal friendship which the two great masters shared, as seen through the eyes of Gilot, Picasso's companion from 1946 to 1954.  Includes letters from Matisse to Gilot. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

good book
Francoise Gilot is a very good writer and allows you to meet 2 wonderful characters and their idiosyncrasies.I read the book in 2 days and I loved it.The only thing is it was too short, and i finished it too quickly.I have bought other books written by her.

The Gentleman & The Roughneck
Francoise Gilot, who spent eight years as one of Picasso's women, wrote of the friendship of these two artists in a way that allows a reader to step back in time and be there.How I felt privileged so many times to be able to understand the nuances of the friendship of two so different men connected by their avid passion for art and the world in which their art lived at the time.Their mutual love of art and mutual will to push the art envelope, to use today's term, forced them into a push-pull competition that flowed through the book like a creek, sometimes dry, sometimes overflowing its banks.

Imagine learning the story from the actual words of the artists, in their own chronological time-frames.

"Matisse & Picasso, A friendship in Art" has it all, straight from an intimate who was there for eight years and, like his other women, watched from the sidelines afterwards. This book allows you to understand why "once-Picasso, always Picasso" became a mantra for so many women.And you will be treated to illustrations of paintings, graphics and photographs.

When the book ended, I was as sorry as Picasso that their friendship ended with death and, in a small way, felt a bit lonely in finishing the book, like Picasso's women, wanting more, much more than was available to me. ... Read more