"Paper cut-outs enable me to draw directly on colour... Instead of an outline and filling in the colour... I draw directly into colour." Henri Matisse, 1951

Henri IVlatisse's fascination with colour and hisjoie de vivre are inextricably bound up in his paper cut-outs. In the artist's colourful late oeuvre, regarded as the peak of his output, colour, line and form are blended into a perfect synthesis, exuding a visionary power that seems more contemporary than ever before. Some of these famous works mirror blissful memories of a South Sea paradise - the flora and fauna, exotic life forms and mystic adventures reflecting an artistic dream come true.

While working on paper cut-outs for his book 'Jazz' in the early 194os, Matisse continued to refine his new technique. Ultimately he regarded the papiers decoupes as his primary artistic medium and worked on increasingly large compositions, saturated with COIOUF and movement. He worked on monumental drafts for murals, stained-glass windows and ceramic tiles, surrounding himself with his works in his villa 'La Reve' in Vence. Apart from sheets from Matisse's famous work 'Jazz', this volume includes many of these large-format cut-outs that covered entire walls.

Foreword Max Hollein, Olivier Berggruen

Jazz: Rhythm and Meaning Margret Stuffmann

Painting with Scissors: Jazz and Verve Michel Anthonioz

Drafts for Publications and Maquettes Ingrid Pfeiffer

Decoration beyond Decoration Remi Labrusse

Resonance and Depth in Matisse's Paper Out-Outs Olivier Berggruen

The Windows in the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence Ingrid Pfeiffer

Philodendros Hannes Bohringer

'Painting alone remains full of adventure'--Matisse's Out-Outs as

an Inspiration for Nicolas de Stael, EIIsworth Kelly and Andy Warhol Gunda Luyken

Biography

List of Works Illustrated

Selected Bibliography

Authors' Biographies