Ecrits et propos sur l'art de Henri Matisse

Description

Convinced that a painter's true substance resided entirely within his canvases, Matisse spent his life resisting the idea of systematizing his thoughts on art into an organized doctrine. Yet, prompted by events or by sympathy, he occasionally shared reflections, comments, and judgments - continuously revisited and refined - with certain privileged witnesses to the development of his work, and allowed others the opportunity to record them.

This volume brings together Matisse's writings, conversations, and correspondence, arranged into a few major chapters that echo one another, developing the artist's own questions and tracing the steady curve of a life whose work never waned.

Beyond the ease of spontaneity stands the determination to pursue, with constancy and precision, the resources of his art and the possibilities of his temperament - under the one great rule Matisse ever considered absolute: daily work.