Henri Matisse didn’t just draw images of people; he captured entire personalities and whole worlds with unimaginably few lines and deceptively simple shapes. And now, his work is being shown in SE1.
Eames Fine Art Gallery is showing ‘Henri Matisse: Line and Colour’ until 19 February where you will find the series of lithographs after the cut-outs that were published in ‘Verve’ Magazine in 1958, alongside highlights from ‘Florilege des Amours de Ronsard’ (published 1948), Matisse’s epic illustrations to Pierre de Ronsard’s poetry.
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With the works offered in this exhibition, Matisse uses none of the usual methods employed by artists to make a work of art come to life: there is no shading; no shadows placing the figures in a three-dimensional space; no gratuitous details in the images and portraits even.
But simple lines cut into paper and replicated in colour lithographs, or the waxy line of the lithographic crayon drawn directly onto stone, portray entire characters and stories with a few expert strokes making these beautiful prints by Matisse some of the most elegant and impressive ever to be made.
Until 19 February at 58 Bermondsey Street, SE1 3UD
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