194 Matisse

Matisse’s Final Artistic Legacy

A compendium of his revolutionary late-period work, plus a flawless
facsimile of Jazz

This two-volume edition includes a perfect facsimile of Matisse's seminal cut-out work. Jazz, the
legendary album of twenty color prints with calligraphic text, recognized as a masterpiece among artist
books of the 20th century.

The reputation of Henri Matisse (1869–1954) as the most important artist of the modern era is rivaled
only by Picasso—who himself said, "All things considered, there is only Matisse." Towards the end of
his monumental career as a painter, sculptor, and lithographer, an elderly, sickly Matisse was unable to
stand and use a paintbrush for a longer period of time. In this late phase of his life – he was almost 80
years of age – he developed the technique of creating brightly colored paper cut-outs. These gouaches
decoupées (gouache cut-outs) represented a revolution in modern art, yet their simplicity was
dismissed by many critics as the folly of a senile old man. Later critics realized that Matisse had found
a brilliant solution to the age-old conflict between line and color—one that would profoundly influence
generations of artists to come.

Printed on paper similar to the 1947 edition, the facsimile volume allows readers to experience Jazz in
its original, unbound form.
Printed in 18 colors on a small offset press, 4 pages at a time, to obtain the highest fidelity to the
original
Printed on Old Mill in 190 g/m² from Italian paper mill Fedrigoni. This paper is of archival quality and
has a felt-like softness, much like handmade paper
As with the original, this reprint is unbound and folded in signatures of 4 pages. It is protected by a
French folded jacket and a hard-backed cover

The second volume provides a thorough historical context to Matisse's cut-outs, tracing their roots in
his 1930 trip to Tahiti, through to his final years in Nice. Also included are other pivotal works from his
later career, including his contributions to Verve magazine and his exquisite decoration of the Vence
Chapel. Includes rare and historic photographs by Matisse taken in Tahiti, as well as photos of Matisse
by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Brassaï, and the filmmaker Murnau. The text is supplemented by quotations
from Matisse, Picasso, E. Tériade (the publisher of Jazz and Verve), the poets Louis Aragon, Henri
Michaux, and Pierre Reverdy, and Matisse's son-in-law, Georges Duthuit.

About the editors:
Gilles Néret (1933–2005) was an art historian, journalist, writer and museum correspondent. He
organized several art retrospectives in Japan and founded the SEIBU museum and the Wildenstein
Gallery in Tokyo. He directed art reviews such as L'Œil and Connaissance des Arts and received the
Elie Faure Prize in 1981 for his publications. His TASCHEN titles include Salvador Dalí: The
Paintings, Matisse, and Erotica Universalis.

Xavier-Gilles Néret is a teacher of Philosophy in the region of Paris. Like his father Gilles Néret he is
passionate about philosophy, as well as poetry and art. He has been working on the figures who unite
these disciplines, notably Stéphane Mallarmé. He is also interested in less known figures such as the
poet Claude Tarnaud or the artists Barnard Saby and Pascal Doury, on which he has published books
and articles.