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Once again, courtesy of Acquavella Galleries, we have the extraordinary opportunity to listen to the storied Philippe de Montebello as he discusses a work of great art historical import. In this video, Acquavella Galleries director de Montebello discusses Henri Matisse’s Snow Flowers (Fleurs de neige), from 1951, a work that is in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, thanks in no small part to Acquavella Galleries who sold it to its last owner who subsequently bequeathed it to the Met. De Montebello discusses the work itself, as well as the events leading up to the development of Matisse’s cutouts – a process Matisse described as both “sculpting with color” and “drawing with scissors.”
As part of their ongoing commemorations of their 100th anniversary, Acquavella Galleries is looking back at 100 of the most important works that they have handled throughout their history. You can follow more from the series on Instagram under the hashtag #Acquavella100 – who says old dogs can’t learn new tricks?!
From Acquavella Galleries:
THE GREAT CUT-OUTS
Matisse became ill in the 1940’s and gave up oil painting, concentrating on line drawing and the decorations in the Chapel at Vence. Drawing and the paper cutouts of the 1950’s could be done while seated, and this restriction opened up new avenues to explore. The paper cutouts of the 1950’s epitomize simplicity and radiance, with no perspective or depth to the flat patterns of color. However, no matter how abstract, Matisse always insisted on the primacy of pictorial and figural representation.
This video was produced by our friends at Bower Blue.
