Henri Matisse (1869–1954) was a fighting spirit. Despite a cancer diagnosis in 1941, increasing frailty, and the confines of a wheelchair, the indomitable Frenchman never stopped in his quest to produce art. With what he called "une seconde vie" (a second life), he embarked on a remarkable collage period, cutting and pasting pieces of coloured paper into gouaches cut-outs of birds, plants, flowers and the female form.

In this essential introductory book, we revisit this joyful final chapter of Matisse’s long and prodigious career, examining how the cut-outs encapsulated the artist’s many years exploring the possibilities of composition, form and colour.

Author: Gilles Néret
Publisher: Taschen
Number of pages: 96
Dimensions: 21 x 26 cm, hardcover
ISBN: 9783836534222