Matisse in Morocco: Paintings & Drawings, 1912-1913 ANNOTATION
255 illustrations, 50 full color, 304 pages, 9-1/2 x 12"
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Matisse in Morocco has been prepared along with a landmark exhibition originating at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in a unique collaboration with The Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Puskin, and the Hermitage. Among the fifty exquisite color plates are twelve paintings-seven from Soviet collections-that have never been seen in the United States.
Each of the Moroccan paintings and drawings is fully documented, as are the course of the artist's travels and his written impressions, many of which are previously unpublished. The book also features many rare archival photographs and a chronology.
Matisse in Morocco celebrates one of the most dazzling moments in the art of our century, and for only the second time since the works were first exhibited in Paris nearly eighty years ago.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Morocco's intense sunlight, bold architectural forms, lush gardens and flowers growing in profusion made a deep impact on Matisse during his two trips to North Africa in 1912-13. A shimmering seascape of the Bay of Tangier seems to prefigure his later subjective, decorative style. This catalogue of a traveling exhibit reproduces Matisse's 23 Morocco paintings in color (12 of them never before seen in the U.S.). It also includes more than 60 of his quirky Morocco drawings studded with motifs--open windows, Casbah nudes, room interiors, cafes--that would later figure prominently in his painting. Matisse's simplified, vibrant oil portraits of ordinary Moroccans anticipate his theatrical odalisques. Overall, these transitional pictures mark his move away from Fauvism toward a personal exploration of the theme of reality vs. artifice. Cowart, a National Gallery curator, organized the show with a team of French, American and Soviet scholars. (May)
Art & Photography
Book Info
