Matisse's Cut-Outs at Tate Modern.

 Matisse's Cut-Outs 
Tate Modern, London

13 May - 30 August 

“This is a feast of dazzling dreams: come to the carnival” 

The Times

Despite The Times Review’s description of Henri Matisse’s cut-outs as“ a feast of dazzling dreams”, I have always been sceptical, condemning them as the final publicity stunt of a notorious provocateur. I had no intention of buying into what I anticipated would be another over-publicised 'blockbuster' exhibition at Tate Modern. However, following a spontaneous visit last Friday, I have been well and truly swayed.  

In truth, I have nothing against the expressive French Painter as a whole. It is undeniable that he was indeed in the vanguard of Modern Art, putting Titian to shame with works like his polychromatic Woman with a Hat, 1905. So, when an impromptu visit with a departing friend arose, I tied my laces and prepared to join the ranks of thousands of Londoners seduced by his controversial compositions.

Les Gouaches Découpes - as described in his native tongue - are quite simply collages of paper drenched in opaque gouache, which can roughly be described as a blend of watercolours and binding agent. Defining him as a veritable luminary of the plastic arts, his invention continued to align him with visionaries like Picasso and Duchamp. Throughout his lustrous career he drifted between Fauvism and the influence of French classicism, but he never let go of his obsession with bold colour. Nonetheless, it wasn’t to last and the rain came in the late sixties when punishing cancer left him confined to his wheelchair. Tragically, he was unable to hold a paintbrush.

To the outside world, the career of an innovator who’d captured so much untainted beauty and colour in his work was stopped in its tracks. Reading through his journals you can empathize with the ache of his subsequent heartbreak, although it was always clear that he never completely lost hope. As long as he had his mind, he was determined that his creativity would live on.

Fortunately, Matisse rapidly found his silver lining in his invention of cut-outs, which became a personal form of escapism. He hired assistants to slather colourful lashings of gouache onto his paper, before cutting them himself and directing their placement on the canvas. Finally, his imagination could run free despite the confines of his wheelchair. Monique Bourgeois - his fabulously named Russian nurse - modelled for him in the nude and with only his scissors he interpreted every curve and shadow as if he were holding a brush.

Tate Modern indulged us in more than 120 of his cut-outs, skilfully framed and well organised in thematic rooms. The variety of said themes was astonishing. He gave us oceans, circus scenes, dancers, snails, snow flowers, funeral carts, woodland scenes and sensual female figures as his imagination ran wild. A few favourites were the The Dragon and my beloved The Parakeet and the Mermaid, but don’t dare skip past the stained glass windows at the end of the exhibition. The gift shop can wait, believe me.  

  

  

Darting between the works was an afternoon of child-like fun as we competed to decipher the meaning behind each cut-out, unravelling their boldly juxtaposed colours. It felt like a puzzle, ready to be unwrapped. Admittedly we were overly fanatical about referring to the colour key. Somewhat perplexing, it declared red to represent materialism (not violence), blue to represent nature (not the ocean) and white to represent gender (not purity), but what does it matter? That is the beauty of his work, he doesn’t tell you what to see. The titles are simplistic and leave scope for imagination.

As we wandered around, I loosely translated his notes from French to English - perhaps to the detriment of my all too trusting companion. Matisse’s musings were haunting, poetic and so perhaps it was a betrayal of the curators not to offer any translation. Evidently, they displayed these his calligraphy as works of art in itself, but surely everyone ought to have had the chance to ponder Matisse’s philosophy? Of all the notes we pored over, the most enlightening was the line, ‘the cut-outs allow me to bathe in the beauty of the flowers I could no longer pick’, which illustrates the humble purpose of his Gouaches Découpes.

As perfectly described by the Time Out London review, “By the exhibition’s close, you’re convinced that good old gouache paint is the most radiant substance on earth.” It is truly magic. I urge you to go, but not alone. This is no place for shuffling around with a notepad and pencil; it’s an intriguing game for two.