Henri Matisse The Cut-Outs at Tate Modern

A few days ago, I visited the Henri Matisse exhibition at the Tate. Matisse was a successful painter in the twentieth century, but for the last 17 years of his life he started making compositions out of painted paper. He would cut shapes and play with different elements and perspectives which created this unique style of art. The exhibition was incredible and had a nice selection of his work from different stages of his career. Here are some of my favourite pieces.


The horse, the rider and the clown


The sword swallower

The two above were part of the Jazz book/room, which had all these compositions based on circuses. I think the idea of a circus is quite magical on it's own so these two are very effective with the block colours and silhouettes.


The Creole Dancer

I love this one so much. The expression on the dancer's face is fantastic and Matisse captures the movement so well. 


Blue Nude II

One of the most famous series of pieces by Matisse, Blue Nudes, is a great example of how he creates contours and outlines by cutting.


The Parakeet and the Mermaid

This composition was originally pasted across Matisse's studio walls, which I think is a really cool way to create art by using your walls as a giant canvas. You can see the two creatures tucked away between the leaf and fruit shapes. 


Christmas Eve

The exhibitions was constructed in such a way that after 13 rooms filled with Matisse's compositions you walked through a corridor and see the final product of his stained glass window. The layout allows you to appreciate it and gives a progressive vision to the art.

one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine

It was such a fantastic exhibition and make sure you go and see it soon because it ends in September! You can book tickets HERE.


-Lexi xo

Tickets c/o Elli Cartwright (Thank you again!)

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