Henri Matisse: the Cut-Outs and Late Works with Sabry Amroussi

In the late 1940s, world-famous visual artist, Henri Matisse, turned almost exclusively to cut paper as his primary medium, and scissors as his chief implement. Through this shift, he would successfully introduce a radically new operation that came to be called a "cut-out." 

Matisse would cut painted sheets into forms of varying shapes and sizes—from the vegetal to the abstract—which he then arranged into lively compositions, famously striking for their play with color and contrast, their exploitation of decorative strategies, and their economy of means. Initially, these compositions were of modest size but, over time, their scale would grow along with Matisse’s ambitions for them, expanding into mural or even room-size works. 

A brilliant final chapter in Matisse’s long career, the cut-outs reflect both a renewed commitment to form and color and an inventiveness definitive of these works. In this Conversation, your expert, Art Historian Sabry Amroussi will take you through this pivotal period in the career of the French Master, sharing with you related drawings, prints, illustrated books, stained glass, and textiles and putting them in perspective.