In the dazzling light of his final years, Matisse invented a new language: that of cut-out forms and pure colour. Over 230 paintings, drawings, books and cut-out gouaches trace, between 1941 and 1954, the journey of an artist who was free and constantly evolving.
The exhibition Matisse.
1941–1954 sheds light on the final years of Henri Matisse’s career, between 1941 and 1954, through more than 230 works—including paintings, drawings, cut-out gouaches, illustrated books, textiles and stained-glass windows—drawn from the collection of the Centre Pompidou and major international loans. It reveals the multidisciplinary nature of his practice during this period, whilst bringing together an exceptional collection of cut-out gouaches.
At nearly 80 years of age, Matisse reinvented himself with cut-out gouache, a medium which he elevated to the status of an autonomous, free visual language capable of achieving universality through its simplicity. Suitable for both reproduction and monumental commissions, this technique allowed him to fully express the decorative dimension of his art.
The exhibition demonstrates how painting remained at the heart of his artistic approach, far from being supplanted by the cut-outs: on the contrary, it unfolded with ever greater space, intensity and colour. Among the key collections featured in the exhibition are the masterful and final series of *Intérieurs de Vence* from 1947–1948, the *Jazz* album, the *Thèmes et variations* series, and the ink drawings executed with a brush.
