On Henri Matisse

 Heron Dance Journal has been sending out weekly publications for a while, since I signed up for them. He also writes "A Pause of Beauty" where I recently read this as part of his article about gratitude. It kind of goes astray from that topic, but I enjoyed the information on Matisse, which I had forgotten (or more likely was omitted) from Art History classes.

"The life of Henri Matisse, one of the most controversial artists of his day, is an interesting example [of gratitude, as more common as we approach the later stages of life.] Matisse went through a major life change in 1939 at the age of 69. He was diagnosed with colon cancer, underwent a major operation and separated from his wife.

As a younger man his paintings, in particular Woman with a Hat, were the subjects of widespread condemnation and ridicule, mostly because of the use of wild, unorthodox colors. A reproduction of his 1913 Nu Blue (Blue Nude) was burned in effigy at the Armory Show in Chicago in 1913. (It is interesting to compare that painting to one he did toward the end of his life, Nu blue II.)

And in his personal life too he was controversial. He was prone to sexual humor and to songs that made fun of the church. Once he broke up a café concert because, he said, the idea seemed fun at the time. He had a hard time keeping models because of his inclination toward profanity. His first child was born out of wedlock. As he aged though, he seems to have mellowed. The illness in particular seems to have inspired a change. During his recovery, much of which he was confined to bed or a wheelchair, he wrote:

I have needed all that time to reach the stage where I can say what I want to say. . . Only what I created after the illness constitutes my real self: free, liberated.

The book Jazz, based on his cutouts, was written during the first years of his recovery. He particularly labored over the words — although only six or seven typewritten pages, he continued to revise them for three years after the images were finished. Much of his writing in that book and in subsequent years related in some way to love, gratitude and spirituality.

During the last fifteen years of his life, he developed close, long-lasting friendships with his models including one who became a nun. That friendship led him to create the stained glass windows of Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence on the grounds of the convent where she lived. And, after years of rivalry, his friendship with Picasso deepened. They frequently exchanged gifts, including of each other's art.

That image — of an aging man, a gentle man, at peace with life — reveling in the beauty around him and in his friendships, is an inspiring one. A good end to a courageous, creative life.

Here's an interesting short video of him at work."