Impress your friends with your knowledge of the Bechtler’s Matisse exhibit

“From the moment I held the box of colors in my hands, I knew this was my life…”

The exhibition of Henri Matisse’s art books at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art features an astonishing mix of monochromatic brilliance and vibrant colors.

The show includes 80 pieces from four art books that span an 18-year period, including the final years of Matisse’s career.

The exhibit provides a look into a lesser-known area of the celebrated French artist’s work, and is a perfect way to inject some culture into your next visit uptown.

Highlights of the exhibition:

(1) “Poesies de Stephane Mallarme (The Poetry of Stephane Mallarme).”

The first display features drawings from this book of poetry.

It took Matisse more than two years to produce the 29 drawings. The simplicity of the lines, which were cut onto metal plates for printing, makes them graceful as individual forms as well as functional to the picture as a whole.

Pictured below is a piece from a poem titled “Le guignon” (Bad Luck):

(2) “Jazz.”

Matisse’s art book “Jazz,” considered one of the most famous art books in modern art history, consists of 20 prints on paper pieces that are about 16 by 26 inches.

There are 250 copies of this book and the one featured at the Bechtler is #181. His work here consists of cutouts and Matisse’s own text.

Matisse began creating the cutouts in 1941, after he was left wheelchair-bound following surgery for abdominal cancer.

He called making the vibrant cutouts “drawing with scissors.” For the prints in this book, he used an old stencil-based technique called pochoir.

(3) “Icare” (Icarus).

Created in 1947, “Icare” from “Jazz” depicts the mythical Icarus in a vivid free fall after losing his wings.

(4) “Pasiphae, Chant de Minos” and “Poemes de Charles d’Orleans.”

“Pasiphae, Chant de Minos” is a retelling of the Greek myth about Pasiphae, wife of King Minos, using 18 linocuts.

“Poemes de Charles d’Orleans” contains lithographs of Charles d’Orleans poems with elaborate illustrations.

For those inspired by the lively prints, the Bechtler Museum has set up an adjacent room with scissors, construction paper and markers so that aspiring artists can create their own projects.

The exhibition will run until Sept. 7.

This story was originally published June 15, 2015 at 9:43 PM.