Henri Matisse Archives

Art

From Poseurs to Pros: Artists and Their Models

by Mostafa Heddaya June 13, 2014June 16, 2014

The model is the message in Artists and Their Models, an exhibition currently on view at the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art in Washington.

Opinion

Kids Looking at Matisse

by Hrag Vartanian May 30, 2014

I’m a sucker for children’s reactions to art, and in this new video by the Tate a bunch of kids share their thoughts about artist Henri Matisse’s cut-paper works at the London museum.

Art

Six Decades in Wolf Kahn’s Landscape

by John Seed April 30, 2014May 4, 2014

The earliest painting on view in Wolf Kahn: Six Decades is a large landscape-derived abstraction from 1960 titled “Into a Clearing.” It features a loose, pulsing welter of brushstrokes that coalesce into lush zones of breathing, blooming color.

Art

Old and New Takes on the Female Nude

by Alicia Eler March 12, 2014March 12, 2014

PORTLAND — Way back in 1989, the Guerrilla Girls called attention to the fact that less than 5% of the artists in Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Modern Art sections were female, but 85% of the nude works on display featured women. Twenty-five years later, it should be common practice not to create shows that are noninclusive, mostly white, and mostly male. But the patriarchy is still going strong, even in the liberal mecca that is Portlandia.

Art

Corralling the 20th-Century Rampage of Modernism in Texas

by Allison Meier November 14, 2013November 13, 2013

As the 100th anniversary year of the 1913 Armory Show winds down, it’s worth taking a look at an exhibition in Texas that may not directly corral together the scandalous and shocking art of that first burst of modernism into the Americas, but just as strongly shows how the waves of Cubism, Futurism, Expressionism, and beyond would roll through the 20th century here with the spurring of that initial experimentation in Europe.

Art

The Tombs of Artists: A Last Statement From the Grave

by Allison Meier August 1, 2013August 7, 2013

As a last final statement, artists’ tombstones don’t disappoint. From the wildly eccentric to those that incorporate their own creations, the graves of artists are a fascinating reflection of their work.

Art

10 Painters’ Lives Chronicled as Infographics

by Allison Meier July 24, 2013July 28, 2013

At about the same time Abstract Expressionist painter Jackson Pollock was losing himself to depression, Matisse’s longterm relationship with his wife was unwinding, and when Mondrian was discovering Cubism, Miró was delving into Surrealism. All these little landmarks of 10 abstract painters’ lives have been charted into infographic form, so you can contrast the timelines of what it takes to be an artist.

Art

Seeing Behind a Master’s Process: Matisse

by Kyle Chayka December 25, 2012December 27, 2012

It’s a funny thing to see one of the heroes of modern art at work. Viewing Matisse: In Search of True Painting at the Metropolitan Museum is kind of like watching a YouTube video of Pablo Picasso painting. The artistic act is present and impressive — you are seeing a great painter create great art in real time — but also somehow underwhelming, like uncovering the man behind the curtain in The Wizard of Oz. They’re only human, after all.

Opinion

This Is the Art You Can Buy at Costco

by Kyle Chayka October 8, 2012October 8, 2012

Thirty-pound bags of flour, giant TV sets, and giant boxes of diapers are a few of the things you might find at the bulk discount store Costco. Oh yeah, and original art by Pierre Bonnard, George Rouault, Henri Matisse, and Andy Warhol. The big-box store has started selling fine art — and they’ve sold out all of their stock.

Opinion

“Art Cage!”

by Philip A Hartigan April 18, 2012

CHICAGO — Hat tip to Paul Klein in Chicago for alerting me via Facebook to artist Leon van den Eijkel, who has posted a gigantic number of photos of artists’ studios (predominantly historical) on his Facebook Wall.