Customer Reviews (3)

Not really great
I think it was cute for parents of the child, but not really worth purchasing, I expectsd a graft project book. Waste of money.

Excellent concept, well executed
An amusing introduction to the artist Matisse that I highly recommend.Written as though it's an 8-yr-old's school report, it is accessible and very informative.It includes reproductions of Matisse art and biographical information.Loved it.And it was useful as a teaching tool.

Disappointed in Matisse Drawing with Scissors
Cute, but not as substantial as I would have liked. ... Read more

Book Description
Presents a biography of Henri Matisse ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Outstanding Series
Mike Venezia makes famous artists come to life.I have used these books in my reading class and have inspired reluctant readers to read non-fiction.Ages 6-11enjoy the lively language and great reproductions.

Well thought out...
I was really impressed with not only how wonderfully the book related to children, but to the colorful art work as well.My son asked lots of questions and related this book to his life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Tiny!
Just a warning that this edition of Jazz is quite small.It's about the size of a large post card.In addition, the shape of the book- just like the picture, duhh- forces most of the images inside to be even tinier.A cute book, but definitely not a great way to enjoy Matisse's fine work.

A Top Candidate as the Finest 20th Century Art Book!
Many artists run out of steam before their life ends.Their final work either wanders off in unpromising directions or maunders in repetition of themes already better explored earlier.

Matisse was a happy exception.His work continued to be refined and improved.Jazz is arguably his best work and one of the few affordable ways for each of us to view outstanding art in the format for which it was designed.

Where most illustrated books (including other books illustrated by Matisse) accompany a text by a poet or an author, Jazz is based on a text by Matisse.The text, however, is there to create a visual context for the cut-outs.Matisse employed a delightful calligraphy in his own hand to capture his thoughts about how to be an artist.Many artists are very poorly equipped to explain their own work and approaches to creating that work. Matisse once again proves himself to be a giant by producing a text that's as delightful as the brilliant images.

The text is, of course, in French, but a simple English translation precedes the displayed material.

Riva Castleman opens the book with a fine history of the work inception and execution.

Beyond there, you will delight in familiar images.Many of the plates from this book have become cultural icons such as Icarus, Clown, Circus, Horse and Heart.You will doubtless also find new favorites among the various Lagoons and circus-themed cut-outs.

What, you ask, is a cut-out?Matisse was too ill to get out of bed to paint.Instead, he took brightly color paper and cut out images that resemble what a precocious child might do.Then, these images were carefully pinned over other colored sheets on a wall and equally carefully moved in response to Matisse's directions by his patient assistant.

The work captures a freeness, freshness and frolicsome nature that will make you feel young again.They are a remarkable accomplishment for any artist.They present an unbelievable achievement by someone literally warming their death bed.

Even if you don't like modern art, you'll like Jazz.Get the beat!

Possibly the most beautiful book of the 20th Century
Like the style of music for which it is named, Henri Matisse's "Jazz" moves in unexpected rhythms.His first major project in the unique cut-out medium, the book was originally published in a very limited edition.This 1985 edition brings a true work of art to a mass public."Jazz" is a book all book lovers should own, because it forces you to become more aware of the sheer visual pleasure provided by reading.Matisse's calligraphic text can be appreciated for its beauty by those who do not read French (a translation of the text is provided at the front of the edition), and its cool black-and-white austerity rests the eye from the dazzle provided by the amazing plates.Matisse's colors are so bright they burn themselves onto your retina!Do not resist them, for they will transport you into a world where pure forms float in a limitless space, a world simultaneously serene and vivid. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description
“If my story were ever to be written down truthfully from start to finish, it would amaze everyone,” wrote Henri Matisse.It is hard to believe today that Matisse, whose exhibitions draw huge crowds worldwide, was once almost universally reviled and ridiculed. His response was neither to protest nor to retreat; he simply pushed on from one innovation to the next, and left the world to draw its own conclusions.Unfortunately, these were generally false and often damaging. Throughout his life and afterward people fantasized about his models and circulated baseless fabrications about his private life.

Fifty years after his death, Matisse the Master (the second half of the biography that began with the acclaimed The Unknown Matisse) shows us the painter as he saw himself. With unprecedented and unrestricted access to his voluminous family correspondence, and other new material in private archives, Hilary Spurling documents a lifetime of desperation and self-doubt exacerbated by Matisse’s attempts to counteract the violence and disruption of the twentieth century in paintings that now seem effortlessly serene, radiant, and stable.
Here for the first time is the truth about Matisse’s models, especially two Russians: his pupil Olga Meerson and the extraordinary Lydia Delectorskaya, who became his studio manager, secretary, and companion in the last two decades of his life.
But every woman who played an important part in Matisse’s life was remarkable in her own right, not least his beloved daughter Marguerite, whose honesty and courage surmounted all ordeals, including interrogation and torture by the Gestapo in the Second World War.

If you have ever wondered how anyone with such a tame public image as Matisse could have painted such rich, powerful, mysteriously moving pictures, let alone produced the radical cut-paper and stained-glass inventions of his last years, here is the answer.They were made by the real Matisse, whose true story has been written down at last from start to finish by his first biographer, Hilary Spurling.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

More than history of art
Superb!Not only one of the best biographies I've read, it get's into the mind of the artist.This is not an easy thing to do.I read it as I would a novel, it was very hard to put down.

Art is the Air That I Breathe
"Artists are like plants whose growth in the thickets of the jungle depends on the air they breathe, and the mud or stones among which they grow by chance and without choice."Matisse's words coupled with his life as proof of what van Gogh said about the love of art making one lose real love make the reader feel the pain, the joy and the rich colours of his life all that much more.He made us understand.

Hilary Spurling's masterpiece (savoured by me for endless months, days and hours) has been an extraordinary experience I never wanted to end - both volumes.And now her biography is all locked in my mind - hopefully, to be recalled again and again in painting after painting and life experience after love experience - thanks to all the years of her hard work and research.

I am now filled with the colours of the Master - just as he'd installed 'The Tree of Life' in "a change of key that brought an extraordinary clarity, serenity and stillness to the music of the chapel."If the student of art, the student of life might only read pp. 455-456, he/she would be amazed at one whose talents were mocked ("any child could paint better than Matisse." ... "...his inventions seemed not simply monstrous but blasphemous as well.") and would ache to have had the chance to be a simple fly on the wall in those last years of his life when the many energies swirled about his taxi beds and many wond'rous studios ever-changing, metamorphosing, revealing and displaying, nurturing, teaching... revolutionary!

Let us not forgot his bedrocks - the women who made all his successes possible are miraculous and astonishing... Lydia, Matisse's remarkable genius manager (we should all be so lucky to know such a dynamo); Amelie, his extraordinary wife and her 'nine lives'; of course, Marguerite, his daughter, whose amazing vitality and strength of character resounds on almost every page of his life story; she was one (by her great courage) who humbled him more than anyone else could; and the countless models and interns...

As a side note...I remember in January 2006 when Hilary Spurling "scooped one of Britain's most prestigious literary awards," Whitbread Book of the Year prize, just as the big scandal exploded about Oprah's book club "author" protégé/scam artist James Frey was exposed.I thought to myself, "There is still a god!"What kind of mindless person would turn to Oprah for advice on what to read in the first place?!What does she know about literature?

I am humbled at Hilary Spurling's great accomplishment and would love to meet her one day so I could sing her the song I wrote about Matisse and the story of his blue butterfly. [...]

"The blue of that butterfly and Cezanne
made you more of a spiritual man."

Matisse - He Shocked the World Yet He Pleases The Eye of the Individual!
Such a wonderful book to read! After seeing his works of art at the museums in New York (MET - MOMA); in Maryland (BMA); and in California (San Francisco), it is a joy to the human spirit to read this biography. This book offers the reader all the underlying events contributing to each of his major works of art. It allows us to better appreciate his extreme and intense efforts to create; it allows us to recognize his unquestionable courage to be himself while many of the art world turned away from him; and one will learn of his life long love of the natural world (birds and plants) and his view of the importance of the spirit of man. Further, this book allows the reader to see his social frustration; one can learn of his powerful drive (so red hot) to create, and one will see in words how he commanded everyone around him to assist him in his zeal to achieve his personal best in art. As the book denotes towards the end even Picasso, the great competitor, stated in a discussion of one of Matisse's later works (the Chapel in Nice): 'Only Matisse could do this!' Read to learn, read to know, and read to be more deeply passionate in love with Matisse as I am!

See New Dimensions of Matisse's Work
Those of us who live today are spoiled in one sense that we don't realize:We can see Matisse's work on display and appreciate its evolution.That wasn't possible until just the last few decades.Until then, many of his most powerful works were locked up in the Soviet system and not on display or were in the hands of reclusive collectors.

That's an important point to remember when you wonder why Picasso has gotten so much more attention than Matisse, you could always see Picasso's work and Picasso courted attention.

Matisse, by comparison, found that it took all of his energies just to create art.There was very little time left over for his family and the rest of the world.He also wasn't inclined to seek out those who could explain and defend his work.As a result, he was widely misunderstood and underappreciated during his lifetime.This book corrects many of those problems.

Of particularly interest is the finding that although Matisse spent his life painting voluptuous nudes, he didn't indulge in having sexual relations with his models.Rather he used the sexual tension the models created in him to help inspire a better work.The models did become, ultimately, the undoing of his marriage . . . but not for the reasons you expect.

As fascinating as he is as an artist, he even more interesting as a creative person and head of a family.Matisse saw his family's role as being there to serve art.Although in a crisis, he would show up to encourage and aid family members and friends . . . usually he was off painting or sculpting by himself in sunnier climes.The rest of the time, they were doing administrative tasks, critiquing the works, staying out of his way and helping him enjoy a tranquil existence.

Anyone who wants a deeper appreciation of Matisse's work will learn from this volume.Although the book would have been better with more color plates, the pages are generously illustrated with black and white reproductions to give you a sense of his focus and development.

For artists, the book's many insights into the pros and cons of relationships with collectors and dealers will make the volume a "must have" item.

I didn't know the background of many of his best works, such as Jazz.It was a pleasure to better understand why he did them.

In particular, you will come away with a new appreciation for Matisse's use of color to capture emotion.Think of The Red Studio and the Conversation.

I seldom savor biographies as much as I did this one.I plan to go back now and read the first volume in the series, The Unknown Matisse.

Ms. Spurling's extensive use of Matisse's letters (and especially reproducing the funny little cartoons he liked to put in them) made the book a special joy.

Nice work, Ms. Spurling!

Inspirational
Being a artist sometimes one needs to see new the world around them. The pressures of family life and the ability to do what you do sometimes empties the soul. What I find the most interesting is the perspective given to the self appraisal and the internal struggle Matisse went through in his personal and business dealing. Anyone interested in the business aspect of the art world from the artist perspective will find this book helpful in both personal and professional dealings. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Henry Matisse: a quick acquaintance
This was a great book for fast research I wanted to do, and had no time for more complicated books. It can be read by both children and adults.
There are many photos, paintings, chronological charts and quotations by the great artist. It's very well organized and cohesive.
I recommend this book for everyone. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Matisse
Pretty good book.I used it for an essay at school and it provided some valuable information and was my primary source.I thought it was a little quote heavy, as half the book is quotes from Matisse or art critics.Some are valuable, but others are just useless fluff.For example, in the begining there is a page long paragraph devoted to why everyone called Matisse a "doctor" and a hedonist or something.It bears no significance to what Matisse did.

I also wish that the book would have talked more extensively about his impact and effects on art.The book says some but the information isn't really centralized and its sort of here and there throughout the book.I wish there would have been a couple pages at the end or something about it.

Otherwise there is a lot of pictures and they're all real good quality.Also had pretty good analysis of some of his paintings, like their meanings and compositional elements that make it great etc... It also covers his entire life, before Fauvism to paper collages.I recommend it.

A good book with accurate color
This is a wonderful book. The color seems very accurate. There are many artbooks with inaccurate color reproduced.I compared several photos in this book with the real Matisse's paintings, the color is all accurate. ... Read more

Book Description
In 1936, French publisher Christian Zervos released a collection of drawings by Henri Matisse as part of his Cahiers d'Art series. Along with 39 stunning Matisse drawings, the book included a preface by Zervos and a poem by Tristan Tzara dedicated to the artist. The drawings, mostly of women—nudes, portraits, interior scenes—express an extraordinary sensuality.

This reprint, a facsimile edition faithful to the original, features translations by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and scholar Richard Howard. The beauty of Matisse's simple drawings, as powerful today as in 1936, remains accessible to art lovers and a general audience alike. 39 full-page facsimile reproductions. ... Read more

Book Description
Henri Matisse: Drawings with ScissorsMasterpieces from the Late Years Olivier Berggruen and Max Hollein

Now in an attractively priced flexi-cover edition, this lavishly illustrated volume presents all aspects of Matisse's cutouts.

Henri Matisse's paintings and drawings are some of the most revered in the art world and his cutouts are widely believed to represent the zenith of his artistic career. When Jazz, Matisse's revolutionary handmade book of paper cutouts, was published in the early 1940s, it was considered a dramatic departure for the artist. Eventually he came to consider the cutout as his primary artistic medium. This collection of superb reproductions and critical essays offers a chance to appreciate the full spectrum of Matisse's work, from the early models for Jazz to the large-scale works that dominated the artist's final creative period, and offers fascinating new discoveries about the connections between the cutouts and his earliest works.

Max Hollein is Director of the Schirn Kunsthalle Museum in Frankfurt, Germany.

Olivier Berggruen is an art historian, who lives in New York. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A compilation of learned essays on the work of the great artist after age-related illness
Compiled and co-edited by art historians Oliver Berggruen and Max Hollein, Henri Matisse: Drawing With Scissors, Masterpieces From The Late Years is a compilation of learned essays on the work of the great artist after age-related illness, which confining him either to his bed or a wheel chair, would no longer permit him to paint, so Mattise took up cutting out colored paper patterns and having his assistants mount them in special patterns under his guidance (often from his wheel chair). The profusely illustrated essays include "Jazz: Rhythm and Meaning (Margret Stuffmann); "Painting with Scissors: Jazz and Verve" (Michael Anthonioz); "Drafts for Publications and Maquettes" (Ingrid Pfeiffer); "Decoration beyond Decoration" (Remi Labrusse); "Resonance and Depth in Matisse's Paper Cut-Outs" (Olivier Berggruen); "The Windows in the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence" (Ingrid Pfeiffer); "Philodenros" (Hannes Bohringer); and "Painting alone remains full of adventure - Matisse's Cut-Outs as an Inspiration for Nicolas de Stael, Ellsworth Kelly and Andy Warhol" (Gunda Luyken). A superb guide, Henri Matisse is very strongly recommended addition to personal and academic library Art History reference collections is enhanced with the inclusion of an informative foreword by Max Hollein and Olivier Berggruen, an extensive biography of Mattise, a list of illustrated works, and a selected bibliography for further study.

A Great Book Worthy of Its Subject
Originally published in an expensive hardcover edition as a catalogue to a European exhibition of the same name, Prestel has wisely chosen to republish this important book in a smaller, softbound and attractively priced format.This is an unexpected boon to lovers of Henri Matisse's art, as "Drawing With Scissors" is the most important publication on Matisse's famous last works - the paper cut-outs or gouaches decoupees - to appear in many years, and effectively supercedes John Elderfield's "The Cut-Outs of Henri Matisse" as the best introduction to these famous works.The authors are a noted group of European art historians, and each of the essays here explore different aspects of the making, meaning, and interpretation of these unique objects, from the cut-outs as Matisse's final attempt to unite color and drawing to the cut-outs as revolutionary works which explode the traditional opposition between "high art" and "decoration" in Western history.Although visually simple to the extreme and coloristically exuberant, these last works were the product of many years of searching and investigation into the nature of reality and the creative process, and the authors do justice to the unexpected intellectual heft behind the gorgeous appearance of the cut-outs.Physically, this small book is gorgeous - the layout and design equal the hardcover edition and the quality of the color reproductions is stunning.A must-have for any serious art library. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

this is a book that I have used for several years
Matisse is an artist that will grow with you. I often return to this or other Matisse books and find ways of seeing painting that I have never contemplated before. What's nice about this Retrospective is that it does a first rate job of covering the artists entire life in detail.

When I first got this book, I skipped over most of the writing and just soaked in the pictures (The quality of reproductions here is very well done). What will engage you in the long run are the thousands of notes that the compilers have used to compliment the pictures. Most of these notes I myself do not find of interest, though they are helpful if you would like to know of his personal life. But a percentage of these deal with the paintings and how they were created. For myself, it was illuminating to see photo documentation of Matisses work as it was transformed over time.

This is not a book that will help you gain access to the deeper/scholarly realms of Matisse. I would have loved to have had the compilers here introduce every drawing and print that the artist had completed over his life. Most of the secondary work of Matisse is not to be found here. On the other hand, I don't think that most people would be interested in seeing sketch book work.

If you like Matisse and want the book that does the best job of introducing the artist, this is the one to get.

An essential sourcebook
This oversized volume documents a retrospective exhibition devoted to Matisse which was held at the Museum of Modern Art in late 1992 and early 1993.The largest Matisse exhibition ever staged, it is unlikely that thismassive curatorial event will ever be repeated.For devotees of Matisse,this book is an essential addition to your library, although there islittle here that has not been previously published and discussed many timesin earlier exhibitions.I think this book is more useful for thoseindividuals who have just been introduced to this artist's work - it is amarvelous one-volume survey, clearly organized into seven chronologicalsections covering the entirety of Matisse's life, and showcasing his finestpictures.For those readers looking for more than just reproductions,however, the book is less satisfying.Elderfield's introductory essay isvirtually incomprehensible for anyone who isn't already familiar with thematisse literature, and is poorly coordinated with the catalogue itself -there is no discussion of the individual paintings actually in theexhibition, or their interrelationships.The chronology of the artist'slife is useful, but no more than bare bones history.This book is chieflya visual pleasure and a fine document of a great exhibition.However,having seen the exhibition myself, I must inform the reader that many ofthe photographs in the book were received from non-MOMA sources, and thereare variations in quality among the images.The bulk of the reproductionsare just too dark, lending Matisse's pictures a muddy look that they do notpossess in reality.I wish someone had bothered to compare the photos tothe paintings before they sent the book to press.Still, if you buy onlyone book on Matisse, this should be it.

Covers all aspects of Matisse and his works!
This book goes through all of his different periods in his life; including many full-color plates which display the pictures described in the text. Definately a must have! ... Read more

Book Description
No other subject inspired Henri Matisse with such passion throughout his career as the female figure in interior settings. This is the most comprehensive publication to cover the topic of women in the work of the great regenerator of European painting, and in so doing, it covers the full spectrum of Matisse's creative evolution, from the small, somber, early pictures to the masterly compositions of his Fauvist phase, the intimate pictorial inventions of the Nice period, and finally the luminous paper cutouts of his late work. Many of the interiors show women reading, sleeping or daydreaming, passive figures enveloped in Oriental fabrics, costumed as odalisques or reclining on chaise longues. Additional motifs include the artist and his model, the artist's studio, the portrait, the still-life, and the view from a window. Figure Color Space offers an in-depth survey of this important subject in Matisse's work, through which he developed and continually explored his rich and imaginative repertoire of forms and colors. Along with paintings from all periods, it includes sculptures, drawings, cutouts and prints, as well as historical studio photographs by Cartier-Bresson, Brassae, Hal ne Adant and others. A richly illustrated biography completes this exquisite presentation. ... Read more

Book Description
Bright and playful close-ups of some of Henri Matisse's mostcelebrated collages encourage children to find the whale in Matisse's dove,the splash of milk in his star, and the rays of sunshine in a blue leaf.Oooh! Matisse turns art appreciation into a game and inspires young readersto see masterpieces in their own way. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

The Bible On Matisse
I noticed that this is coming back into print in November 2002, so I figured I'd write this review. If you are a fan of Matisse, you should snap up this book. It is an awesome achievement by Mr. Schneider. There is a tremendous amount of biographical data here, as well as a wealth of reproductions- both color and black and white. One caveat, though. This is definitely not for the casual reader! There is a lot of detailed analysis of the paintings included- such things as Matisse's theories on the use of color and shape; the tremendous amount of work and thought that went into each work in order to create color harmony and a balance of all the pictorial elements, etc. Mr. Schneider respects the reader, so some of this stuff can be a real challenge! But I found it very worthwhile! Matisse's paintings are deceptive, at least to the layperson. They seem soothing and simple. Well, I can promise you that after reading this wonderful book you may still find the paintings soothing, but when you realize what went into the process of creating them you will never again think of them as being simple! This is one of those rare books that opens your eyes and makes you look at something in a completely new way.Reviewer Note: Please be aware that the book I am reviewing is the over 700 page book written by Pierre Schneider, NOT the much shorter book written by Mr. Jacobus and only translated by Mr. Schneider! ... Read more

Book Description
With a narrative that will entertain art lovers of all ages, this new board book is a fun way to introduce young children to fine art. The little ones will love spending A Magical Day with Matisse in a world full of music, color, bobbing sailboats, and tickled toes. Playful rhyming texts accompany the artist s timeless paintings in this little masterpiece. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

lovely book
I love these series of books.My daughter instantly loved this book and she's only 15 mos. old.I started reading "In the garden with Van Gogh" when she was 6 mos. old.She loves them both now.The rhymes are very cute as well.

Nudity?
It's nothing your kid hasn't seen before. My niece, she's thrilled there are other people who run around nakie, just like she (and most toddlers) prefers to do.

Nudity Not Appropriate for My Infant Son
I love all 5 of the books in this series, but I just returned this one with the Matisse artwork.

I just felt that pictures of a bunch of BUCK NAKED PEOPLE sitting around playing instruments and a group of BUCK NAKED PEOPLE dancing around in a circle just weren't appropriate for my infant son's collection of books right now (well, maybe EVER).I wish someone had told me BEFORE I had purchased it . . . it's more than just 'bobbing sailboats' and 'tickled toes' . . .

Very Cute
Just the thing if you want to spend some time reading something that is both cute and educational!

Incredible Introduction to Art
My daughter is 17 months old and loves this series of books.The artwork is representative of the original work and the words do a great job of telling a story for each picture in a descriptive way without "squashing creativity" for the reader.

One minor concern, if you have any objection to nudity, there are pictures of representational nudes in the Matisse book that are indicative of his work.My husband and I discussed it and introduced it to our daughter who didn't seem to care at all.She just loved the "people dancing." ... Read more

Book Description
If painting was for Matisse the expression of a "state of condensed sensations," his engravings consisted of "Traits Essentiels" or "essential lines:" they were recordings of a single sensation, and rarely passed through any series of stages or reworkings. In fact, engraving was a refuge. Marguerite Duthuit-Matisse, co-author of a catalogue raisonne of her father's prints, describes the graphic work he often executed at the end of a painting session as an "agreeable conclusion." After several experiments with drypoint, Matisse turned toward woodcut in 1906 (and gave it up almost immediately), then worked simultaneously in monotype and etching, where he achieved an astonishing tension between surface and line. Later, he turned to linocut and to sugarlift aquatint. It is on these projects that the selection in Traits Essentiels focuses: Lithography, which Matisse practiced from 1906 to 1952, and with which he was less experimental, is excluded. Text in French only. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

good buy
The quality is outstanding for a book this price.
Well illustrated and the color is excellent.A good book
to get you into Matisse. ... Read more

Book Description
Henri Matisse created some of his most exquisite works by cutting shapes out of paper. Delightfully entertaining and playfully inventive, his "paintings with scissors" are also a superb introduction to the most basic artistic concepts: color, line, and form.

This engaging and accessible look at Matisse's cut-outs, arguably the highlight of his magnificent career, follows the artist as he goes in search of pure forms of expression. Illustrated with beautiful reproductions and details of Matisse's most famous works, the book explains how the artist's paintings evolved over the course of his life, gradually becoming flatter, simpler and more chromatically pure until they resembled the cut outs themselves. Matisse's spontaneity, his love of bold colors, and his seemingly effortless ability to capture movement on paper make him one of the most appealing artists to children. Fun and easy-to-follow, this exploration of Matisse's cut-outs invites children of all ages to grab a pair of scissors, find some colored paper, and "paint." ... Read more