The Last Matisse – Paper Morphologies

Over 100 works from private collections reveal Henri Matisse’s extraordinary “second life,” when illness forced him to abandon painting and dedicate himself entirely to cut-out gouaches. During this final period of his career, the French artist invented a revolutionary artistic language, cutting out colored shapes in paper to create compositions of extraordinary vitality. His paper morphologies – figures, seaweed, stars, arabesques – dance in space with a freedom and contagious joy. These works represent the apotheosis of color and form, where the simplicity of the gesture transforms into visual poetry. Matisse demonstrated that physical limitations can become creative opportunities, transforming his bedroom into a studio where imagination knew no bounds. A fascinating chapter in the history of modern art.