Jazz (Henri Matisse)
| Jazz: title |
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| Henri Matisse , 1947 |
| Artist book |
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Link to the picture |
Jazz (1947) is a work of book art , which consists of twenty illustrations and texts by Henri Matisse is. It is based on paper cutouts and is one of the most important artist books of the 20th century. Tériade , a well-known Greco-French art publisher, published it in 1947.
Emergence
“Cutting directly into the color reminds me of the sculptors' work in stone. My book was created out of this spirit […] These pictures in lively and powerful tones were created from crystallized memories of the circus, folk tales or travel. "
When Matisse started the project, he was over 70 years old and in poor health. “Painting with scissors” made his artistic work easier. As in previous years, he used scissors to cut out simple shapes from paper that was colored monochrome with gouache paints according to his instructions. With the help of an assistant, he arranged the cuts on sheets of paper that were also colored. These compositions served as printing templates. In the edition, fifteen pictures take up a double page, while five pictures take up a left or right page and Matisse's calligraphic lines are juxtaposed.
| Jazz: Illustration Icarus |
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| Henri Matisse , 1947 |
| Artist book |
|
Link to the picture |
Jazz was published in autumn 1947 - the paper cutting templates were created as early as 1943/44. The book is the culmination of Matisse's technique of "papiers découpés". His publisher Tériade, with whom he also worked on other publications such as the magazine Verve , had the book produced using a new, elaborate stencil printing process , stencil . The title results from the improvisation and the rhythm of the images, which create the relationship to the music style jazz . Motifs depicting clowns , acrobats , horse riders and saber-swallowers refer to the originally planned title "Cirque" (circus). Jokers and acrobats serve as metaphors for artistic existence. The text in Matisse's handwriting does not illustrate the pictures, but with it Matisse reflects on his artistic means and philosophizes on topics such as happiness, death or God. The texts written in black ink form a counterbalance to the colored illustrations.
The originals of the limited first edition of 250 copies were not bound as the binding would have destroyed the pictures. Buyers of the book had covers designed to hold the pages together.
meaning
Jazz is one of the most successful limited edition artist books created by 20th century artists, alongside Picasso , Chagall and Raoul Dufy . Some prints of jazz have become classic images that are often reproduced as posters , such as Icarus .
Work editions
- 1947: Jazz . Tériade, Paris
- 1957: Jazz . R. Piper & Co, Munich
- 2009: Jazz , ed. by Katrin Wiethege. Prestel, Munich, ISBN 978-3-791-34278-8
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Volkmar Essers: Matisse , Taschen, Munich 2006, ISBN 978-3-822-86365-7
- ↑ Matisse: Drawing with scissors. Schirn Kunsthalle, 2003, archived from the original on October 26, 2007 ; Retrieved March 30, 2009 . Available in the archive ( memento from October 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
