Matisse et la gravure

Matisse and engraving: the other instrument, who other than Henri Matisse's daughter Marguerite could describe his engraving in this way? Responsible for validating her father's press-proofs, she is, along with her son Claude Duthuit, the author of the catalogue raisonné of his engravings. She has devoted a large part of her life to allowing this "unknown continent" to be discovered and which is nevertheless essential in understanding the progression of an artist known above all for his mastery of colour.
The Matisse Departmental Museum, with the help of the Matisse family, and notably Barbara Duthuit, and some most prestigious institutions, explores in this catalogue all of the engraving techniques used by Matisse from 1900 and up to the end of his life. For him, engraving, drawing, painting, sculpture all had the same importance, and in this work all the key themes, which led him to build his research around the human figure, are represented.
For the very first time the matrices (woodcut, lithograph, drypoint, etching, linocut...) accompany the works and help us to understand that high standards and hard work, along with an economy of means, led Matisse to transform black into a colour that he used to serve the purity of line.

Qui mieux que la fille d'Henri Matisse, Marguerite, pouvait décrire le travail d'estampe de l'artiste ? Chargée de surveiller et valider les tirages de Matisse, auteure, avec son fils Claude Duthuit, du catalogue raisonné de l'Oeuvre Gravé, elle a consacré une grande partie de sa vie à faire découvrir « ce continent inconnu » qui constitue pourtant une composante essentielle du travail d'un artiste emblématique de la couleur !

Ce catalogue, grâce à l'aide de la famille Matisse, notamment de Barbara Duthuit, du commissariat du Musée départemental Matisse et de prestigieuses institutions, explore toutes les techniques de gravure pratiquées par l'artiste et ce de 1900 jusqu'à la toute fin de sa vie. Tirées à très peu d'exemplaires, les oeuvres sont rares ; Matisse les considère comme des dessins et ne retouche pas les plaques : il recommence ! Pour lui, gravure, dessin, peinture, sculpture ont la même importance et sont représentées dans cet ouvrage toutes les grandes thématiques qui construisent sa constante recherche sur la figure humaine. Pour la première fois les matrices (bois gravé, pierre lithographique, pointe sèche eau-forte, linogravure…) accompagnent les oeuvres et nous font comprendre l'incroyable exigence, le travail sans relâche pour pour faire du noir une couleur et pour parvenir, avec une économie de moyen, à une pureté incomparable.

Matisse and engraving: the other instrument, who other than Henri Matisse's daughter Marguerite could describe his engraving in this way? Responsible for validating her father's press-proofs, she is, along with her son Claude Duthuit, the author of the catalogue raisonné of his engravings. She has devoted a large part of her life to allowing this "unknown continent" to be discovered and which is nevertheless essential in understanding the progression of an artist known above all for his mastery of colour.
The Matisse Departmental Museum, with the help of the Matisse family, and notably Barbara Duthuit, and some most prestigious institutions, explores in this catalogue all of the engraving techniques used by Matisse from 1900 and up to the end of his life. For him, engraving, drawing, painting, sculpture all had the same importance, and in this work all the key themes, which led him to build his research around the human figure, are represented.
For the very first time the matrices (woodcut, lithograph, drypoint, etching, linocut...) accompany the works and help us to understand that high standards and hard work, along with an economy of means, led Matisse to transform black into a colour that he used to serve the purity of line.