Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs

Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954).
Composition Green Background (Composition fond vert). 1947.
Gouache on paper, cut and pasted, and pencil,

What: In the late 1940s, Henri Matisse turned almost exclusively to cut paper as his primary medium, and scissors as his chief implement, introducing 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, striking for their play with color and contrast, their exploitation of decorative strategies, and their economy of means.
When: Oct. 12th, 2014 – Feb. 8th, 2015
Where: The Museum of Modern Art - MoMA: 11 W. 53rd St. (bet. Fifth and Sixth Aves.)