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Welcome to Great Art.
For the past few years,
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we've been filming
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the biggest exhibitions,
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art galleries
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and museums in the world
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about some of the greatest artists
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and art in history.
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Not only do we record
landmark shows,
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but we also secure
privileged access behind the scenes.
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We then use this as a springboard
to take a broader look
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at extraordinary artists.
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These films play first in
the cinema as Exhibition On Screen,
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then we re-version for television.
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One of the most popular shows
of recent times,
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here in London and in New York,
was Matisse's The Cut-Outs.
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Given the delicate
nature of the work,
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it was genuinely
a once-in-a-lifetime show.
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So we were delighted
to capture it for posterity.
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Henri Matisse
is one of those artists
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whose energy and inventiveness
run deep throughout his entire life.
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His is a colourful story
in every sense,
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that resulted in many great works,
culminating in a late period
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where brushes
were replaced by scissors.
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Ground-breaking, three-dimensional
and emotional works that, to me,
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are as fresh and powerful today,
as the day they were made.
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More than that,
this is also a film about
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how vital our great art institutions
are in supporting artists,
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conserving their work
and time and time again,
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taking on the challenges
of bringing together a major show.
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This exhibition,
ultimately, and unsurprisingly,
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proved to be a smash hit
in both cities.
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For those of you who missed it,
you may never see its like again.
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Except here,
in this latest film from Great Art.
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"The work is an emanation,
the projection of self.
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"My drawings and my canvasses
are pieces of myself.
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"Their totality constitutes
Henri Matisse.
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"The work represents, expresses,
perpetuates.
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"I have always believed
that a large part of
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"the beauty of a picture
arises from the struggle
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"which an artist wages
with his limited medium.
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"Scissors can acquire more feeling
for line than pencil or charcoal.
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"Cutting directly into colour
reminds me
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"of a sculptor's carving into stone.
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"The cut-out is what
I have now found
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"the simplest and most direct way
to express myself."
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There are certain artists
that just demand
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an intense, concerted look
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and those efforts often require
very large exhibitions
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to fully place the work in context.
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They're enormous undertakings,
they take time,
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they take enormous resources,
but they're worth it,
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because they offer the public
an opportunity
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to see extraordinary work at a level
that would otherwise be impossible.
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We've managed to pull together
some of the great works
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that Matisse made
in the last decade of his life
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and I don't think they'll ever be
together again in quite this way,
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so to have them in London
and then in New York is really...
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as they say, a lifetime experience.
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Every now and again,
work suddenly comes into focus
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and it seems highly relevant
to try and show it.
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Being a curator
is about many things,
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but it's very much for me about
installing the work in the gallery,
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sometimes working with the artists,
sometimes, as in this case,
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trying to imagine what
the artist would have wanted.
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You've been thinking about
this work for years
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and suddenly, it's in front of you
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and your responsibility is,
in a way,
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to try and bring
the best out of the work.
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We're in room number five
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and we're towards the end
of the install,
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so the end of the second week.
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I've been working on it
for two years and a half,
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so now it's quite exciting
to see it all come together.
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So as you can see behind me,
the hang is a cluster,
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it looks like it's almost exploding.
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We chose this hang,
because we wanted to mimic,
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in a way, the way Matisse himself
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hung these works
on the walls of his studio.
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The way we see them today
is framed and nicely-prepared works,
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but they had a life
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which was much more malleable
once upon a time.
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There's no perfect way
to install a room.
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You have to work with the grain
of the architecture of the building.
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There are certain works
of a certain size
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that have to go on a given wall,
cos it's a certain length,
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but beyond that,
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it's all about creating
relationships and interval.
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There is always
an adjustment to be made
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and you make that adjustment
with your eye
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and your body and your feel.
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It's all about feel.
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Not only he's inventing a medium,
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but he's inventing a medium
in which he encapsulates
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every other medium
he's ever worked with.
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When you step into the show,
you see works are this size,
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so they're quite intimate
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and then, as you walk through,
it just grows and grows and grows
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until it, like,
fills in whole rooms.
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I mean, it's the idea that
this has become so powerful
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that he's decided to completely
immerse himself in it.
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We're trying to leave enough space
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for people to be able
to see the work
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and have something like
the experience that I have
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when I hang it,
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just trying to sense
what these works are telling us.
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"First of all
I drew the snail from nature,
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"holding it between two fingers,
drew and redrew.
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"I became aware of an unfolding.
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"I formed in my mind
a purified sign for a shell.
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"The decision of the line comes from
the artist's profound conviction.
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"I find myself representing objects
devoid of perspective lines,
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"attached to one another
by feeling...
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"..with an atmosphere
created by colours.
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"There is no separation
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"between my old pictures
and my cut-outs,
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"except that with greater
completeness and abstraction,
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"I have attained a form
filtered to its essentials."
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Henri Matisse was born
in a busy textile town
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in northern France
on the last day of 1869.
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Matisse grew up
in the misty light of the region,
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with its rainy days
and long, hard winters.
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His father,
a successful grain merchant,
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planned for his son
to become a lawyer,
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but, aged 20, while in bed
recovering from appendicitis,
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Henri's life changed when his mother
bought him a painting set.
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"From the moment I held
the box of colours in my hands,
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"I knew this was my life.
I threw myself into it like a beast
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"that plunges towards
the thing it loves.
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"I was a lawyer's clerk,
but other people's quarrels
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"interested me
much less than painting."
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This is Matisse's first work,
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painted within a year of opening
that first box of colours.
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It shows a prodigious talent.
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In 1891,
the 21-year-old Henri Matisse
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travelled to Paris
to enter an art academy.
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He had chosen his path,
to become an artist.
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The early years
of Matisse's training in Paris
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in a way characterised a motif
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that would run
throughout his career,
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which on the one hand
is about acquiring
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all of the rigor and discipline
of an academic training,
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but also pushing against
those boundaries
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and trying to do something
new and distinct and different.
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The art world had changed radically
in the previous decades.
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First came the Impressionists,
men like Monet and Degas,
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who had revolutionised art
by capturing fleeting moments,
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scenes of daily life and reflections
of modernising France.
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Then the Post-Impressionists,
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seeking greater emotional depth
and psychological involvement.
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Men like Cezanne...
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Van Gogh...
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and Gauguin, who focused
much more on structure and colour.
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For years, Matisse lived in Paris,
painting, sculpting,
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as well as marrying
and starting to raise a family.
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But trips to the South of France
encouraged a greater attachment
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to vivid colour and form,
influenced by the bright sunlight
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and deep shadows of
the French Mediterranean coastline.
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Matisse's greatness
was as a colourist.
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He achieved a perfection of colour,
of design, of...
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almost of composing,
like a musician,
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which I don't think anyone
has emulated since.
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I don't think one can dispute that,
but he didn't develop in a vacuum.
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He was, if you like,
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the final stage
in a revolution in colour
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that started with the Impressionists
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and then moved on,
was advanced by Post-Impressionists.
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And gradually,
the function of colour
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stopped being descriptive of nature
and started getting the freedom
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to be expressive
of emotion and mood.
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In 1905, Matisse and some friends
held an exhibition,
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and their paintings gained them
a collective name, the Fauves,
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The Wild Beasts.
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Fauvism took Matisse on a journey
even deeper into bold
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and imaginative use of colour,
form and balance,
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and it was a journey that would
occupy him for the rest of his life.
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"The entire arrangement
of my picture is expressive,
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"the place occupied by the figures,
the empty spaces around them,
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"the proportions,
everything has its share.
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"The expressive aspect of colours
imposes itself on me
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"in a purely instinctive way.
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"The chief function of colour
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"should be to serve expression
as well as possible.
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"I put down my tones
without a preconceived plan."
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At the outbreak of World War I,
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the 44-year-old Matisse
was declared too old to fight.
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He stayed in Paris until 1917
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and then he relocated
to the Cote d'Azur.
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And it was here,
on the south coast of France,
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that he would spend
much of the rest of his life.
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I think it's vital,
his move to the south,
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especially again having seen
where he grew up, his early years.
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It's the exact opposite
of a Matisse painting,
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it's the antithesis.
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That, I found very instructive
to realise
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that he sought these things out,
he created his life to enable him
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to paint the subjects
that inspired him,
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which were either light,
palm trees,
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things which are more,
sort of, exotic,
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all of these things
he wasn't born into,
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he had to find for himself
and so I think, in my reading,
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that move can't really
be underestimated.
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Two artists dominated this period,
Picasso and Matisse.
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They were both rivals and friends.
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Almost uniquely,
he and Picasso were the two artists
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who were great
before the First World War
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and then continued to be great
after the First World War,
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which for so many other artists
was a total, sort of, caesura
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that they couldn't go beyond,
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they didn't develop
at all artistically,
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whereas Picasso and indeed Matisse
still had the ideas,
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still re-invented themselves.
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What you don't get with Matisse
very often, unlike Picasso,
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is any great psychological insight.
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It is the composition
of the painting,
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it is the human figure,
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it's very much
a part of that composition.
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In his most memorable...
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Almost the most memorable thing
he ever painted, The Dance,
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you're not particularly curious
about who the figures are,
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but you are totally seduced
by the rhythm
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of the motion of the figures
and the spaces between their limbs
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and their relation to each other.
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In 1930, Matisse travelled to Tahiti
and the USA
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to find a new light and energy.
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It was in the USA, too,
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that the wealthy industrialist,
Albert Barnes,
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commissioned a huge mural,
also called The Dance.
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By the end of it,
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Matisse was convinced
his future lay in simplicity,
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flattening,
continued colour experimentation
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and the use of something new,
the paper cut-out.
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In 1939, France was again
at war with Germany.
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Distressed at France's fall,
Matisse remained here in Nice.
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Early in 1941,
a more personal tragedy befell him,
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abdominal cancer.
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The surgery to remove it
left him incapacitated.
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To escape the bombing,
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00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:03,640
Matisse moved a few miles inland
to Vence.
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And here, he slowly recuperated.
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"In order to make my pictures,
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"I need to remain for several days
in the same state of mind
242
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:17,320
"and I do not find this
in any atmosphere,
243
00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:18,720
"but that of the Cote d'Azur.
244
00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:24,800
"For me now,
silence and isolation are useful."
245
00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:29,480
As he recovered and worked,
246
00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:32,120
Matisse immersed himself
deeper and deeper
247
00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:33,960
into the world of the cut-out.
248
00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:05,840
The word that I would characterise
249
00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:08,800
Matisse's work ethic with
is defiance.
250
00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:11,160
And the cut-outs are
a very good case in point,
251
00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:12,400
because really what he does,
252
00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:13,920
at a moment
when he's getting older,
253
00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:16,560
he's ill, you know, he's not in
the best health, he's quite frail,
254
00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:20,520
he's in a certain amount of pain,
he's suffering from insomnia.
255
00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:22,280
He battles against
all of these things
256
00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:24,240
to produce works which seem,
257
00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:27,880
apparently, to be very joyful,
spontaneous, youthful,
258
00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:31,280
the very, very opposite of
everything that he's experiencing,
259
00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:34,480
and I think there's something
rather extraordinary about that.
260
00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:36,880
In respect of the cut-outs.
261
00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:41,560
I think he has taken
a way of making art
262
00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:46,840
and actually driven it
as far as it would possibly go
263
00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:50,240
and produced something
timelessly beautiful.
264
00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:55,560
Matisse does seem, in a way,
to be retreating from the world...
265
00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:58,960
or he's retreating
from pain and grief
266
00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:03,200
and suffering in the world,
he's creating his own world
267
00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:07,320
of great beauty, of great serenity
268
00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:10,120
and great happiness
and, my goodness,
269
00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:12,600
there is such a need for that.
270
00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:44,920
"Look at this large composition.
271
00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:49,080
"The foliage, fruits, scissors,
a garden.
272
00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:56,640
"As I am obliged to remain
often in bed,
273
00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:58,840
"because of the state of my health,
274
00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:02,320
"I have made a little garden
all around me where I can walk.
275
00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:08,480
"There are leaves, fruits, a bird.
276
00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:16,520
"An artist must possess nature.
277
00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:19,200
"He must identify himself
with her rhythm,
278
00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:20,800
"by work that prepares the mastery
279
00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:23,840
"by which he will later
be able to express himself
280
00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:25,200
"in his own language.
281
00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:31,080
"All my efforts aim towards
obtaining, without brutality,
282
00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:34,360
"the maximum force of colour."
283
00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:06,360
The Museum Of Modern Art committed
itself to Matisse very early on.
284
00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:08,760
In fact, in 1932,
three years after our founding,
285
00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:10,680
we bought our first works by Matisse
286
00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:13,840
and have continued to build
our collection of his work,
287
00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:15,440
now numbering 300 works
288
00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:18,040
and arguably,
the most important collection
289
00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:22,040
of Matisse's work in the world.
The tradition of looking at Matisse
290
00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:24,240
across all of
the different dimensions
291
00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:26,200
of his practice
has been essential to
292
00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:29,000
the Museum Of Modern Art
now for almost 90 years.
293
00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:36,920
The Swimming Pool by Matisse is
294
00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:41,320
the most important Matisse
cut-out in art collection.
295
00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:46,520
In 1992, the Museum Of Modern Art
had a landmark retrospective of
296
00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:50,120
the entire career of Henri Matisse.
297
00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:53,640
It was during that exhibition
that the then curator said
298
00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:57,200
The Swimming Pool really
needs to undergo conservation.
299
00:23:57,200 --> 00:23:59,200
So, over the years,
I've thought about it
300
00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:01,880
and thought about it
and then, in 2008, made a proposal
301
00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:04,160
to the painting
and sculpture department
302
00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:06,120
to conserve The Swimming Pool.
303
00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:12,120
This panel shows a swimmer,
304
00:24:12,120 --> 00:24:17,320
so Matisse was recreating a pool
with female swimmers
305
00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:19,360
and what we have done,
306
00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:22,120
as part of
the conservation procedure,
307
00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:25,520
is to have lined the back.
308
00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:31,600
So the edge has been lined
with Japanese paper to reinforce it
309
00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:34,840
and then these tabs have been added.
310
00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:38,880
So when we reinstall this work
on solid panels,
311
00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:42,720
it will be these tabs that we use
312
00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:45,720
to either staple through
or tack through,
313
00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:49,880
so that the original tacking margin
will no longer have a hole on it.
314
00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:53,440
There's something
extraordinary that happens
315
00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:55,640
when you're in the presence
of Matisse's cut-outs.
316
00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:57,920
Say The Swimming Pool,
one of his magisterial
317
00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:00,880
and most important works,
it's almost visceral,
318
00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:03,400
you actually feel the work
in your body,
319
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:05,320
as well as to see it
through your eyes
320
00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:08,160
and what we learnt during
the research for this exhibition
321
00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:11,560
is that he didn't paste the work,
the shapes, to the surface,
322
00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:15,440
he pinned them, they floated,
they had a fluidity to them
323
00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:17,240
that you cannot understand
324
00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:19,680
unless you're physically
before them.
325
00:25:23,360 --> 00:25:29,200
In a work like this, I'm trying to
examine for technical manufacture.
326
00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:32,720
So at the moment,
if you look up on the screen,
327
00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:34,760
you see the yellow paper
328
00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:37,000
and it looks like there
are two holes,
329
00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:38,800
and in fact there are two holes,
330
00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:43,440
and that's evidence of
the original pinning with...
331
00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:46,360
From the yellow through on
to the orange.
332
00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:50,600
One of the mysteries,
when looking at the cut-outs,
333
00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:55,920
is why is it that sometimes
a form is all from one piece...
334
00:25:57,200 --> 00:25:59,160
..and then you'll look
at another form
335
00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:02,320
and it's made up
of many, many, many, small pieces.
336
00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:04,560
There is simply no adequate answer.
337
00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:08,200
In The Swimming Pool,
338
00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:10,560
you can see that there are
certain swimmers
339
00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:13,680
where the whole body
is virtually one piece,
340
00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:15,200
and then you look at others
341
00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:17,920
and it's made
of many, many, many layers.
342
00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:21,200
What was important
was the outline and the colour.
343
00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:30,400
This is a full-scale mock-up
of one of the nine panels.
344
00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:34,600
So I painted large sheets
of blue paper...
345
00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:39,760
..I traced the original exactly
and then I cut these shapes,
346
00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:43,560
so they are an exact
replica of the original panel.
347
00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:48,720
And so what I'm experimenting here
is the actual process of pinning.
348
00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:51,720
The works were pinned to the wall,
349
00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:54,240
so they had a liveliness
that was reduced
350
00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:56,440
when they were mounted overall,
351
00:26:56,440 --> 00:27:00,240
so what I was trying to work out
for myself,
352
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:05,040
both as curator and as conservator,
was how would this pinning work?
353
00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:08,360
I hope that you will be able to see
354
00:27:08,360 --> 00:27:11,240
and what we were testing
and what we're very happy with,
355
00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:13,400
that the work has
a three dimensionality,
356
00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:14,560
it has a liveliness,
357
00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:18,200
which is what we were trying
to achieve in our reinstallation.
358
00:27:31,610 --> 00:27:34,210
We're beginning
the installation of the work,
359
00:27:34,210 --> 00:27:39,490
and you have this expectation
of what it's going to be like,
360
00:27:39,490 --> 00:27:43,010
but actually standing in front
of them is totally different.
361
00:27:43,010 --> 00:27:46,810
Everyone has been assuming that
the four nudes will be on one wall.
362
00:27:46,810 --> 00:27:50,090
I'm pretty sure that they're
going to end up on two walls,
363
00:27:50,090 --> 00:27:53,970
then, how do you split them?
How do you integrate the sculpture?
364
00:27:53,970 --> 00:27:55,690
How do they sit
in relation to each other?
365
00:27:55,690 --> 00:27:59,450
How are they lit?
Do you create an equal interval?
366
00:27:59,450 --> 00:28:02,210
Or do you group two and then one?
367
00:28:02,210 --> 00:28:05,810
I've already listed
about 10 or 15 possibilities
368
00:28:05,810 --> 00:28:07,970
and that's
the multiplicity of decisions
369
00:28:07,970 --> 00:28:09,850
that you're making all the time.
370
00:28:09,850 --> 00:28:13,330
Even though you've got certain
already-fixed points.
371
00:28:16,210 --> 00:28:18,170
'We're in the middle
of the installation.'
372
00:28:18,170 --> 00:28:19,890
There is a lot happening around us.
373
00:28:19,890 --> 00:28:22,210
And then this one
needs to move to the left.
374
00:28:22,210 --> 00:28:25,410
Number two needs to
move to the left.
375
00:28:25,410 --> 00:28:28,250
'The ambition always is to try
376
00:28:28,250 --> 00:28:32,850
'and reveal how
the artist's thinking developed.'
377
00:28:32,850 --> 00:28:34,810
When you're coming into this room,
378
00:28:34,810 --> 00:28:37,530
you're coming into a really tight
group of work,
379
00:28:37,530 --> 00:28:41,730
where you can really almost trace
on an hourly basis
380
00:28:41,730 --> 00:28:44,170
how his thinking was evolving.
381
00:28:44,170 --> 00:28:45,410
When that comes in,
382
00:28:45,410 --> 00:28:47,810
I just want to try
one other crazy thing.
383
00:28:47,810 --> 00:28:49,490
What do you want to do?
384
00:28:49,490 --> 00:28:52,650
Put it down there
and pull the sculpture here. OK.
385
00:28:52,650 --> 00:28:54,970
'The four Blue Nudes
and the sculptures
386
00:28:54,970 --> 00:28:57,570
'is really a pivotal room
in the show.
387
00:28:57,570 --> 00:28:59,850
'It's the moment where Matisse'
388
00:28:59,850 --> 00:29:04,690
really developed
a completely free way of working.
389
00:29:04,690 --> 00:29:09,170
These are not works that are made
from drawing in front of the model,
390
00:29:09,170 --> 00:29:11,530
they are entirely made from memory.
391
00:29:11,530 --> 00:29:15,210
And you have that sense of almost
a, kind of, quiver of excitement
392
00:29:15,210 --> 00:29:17,410
as he makes these forms
393
00:29:17,410 --> 00:29:20,530
and he refers back to his own
production in sculpture.
394
00:29:20,530 --> 00:29:22,530
So we now have four...
Two.
395
00:29:22,530 --> 00:29:24,730
Two. One.
One.
396
00:29:24,730 --> 00:29:25,850
Three.
Three.
397
00:29:25,850 --> 00:29:27,250
Swap those two.
398
00:29:28,410 --> 00:29:31,050
The four Blue Nudes
were all conceived
399
00:29:31,050 --> 00:29:35,330
very close together in 1952
and then they were split up.
400
00:29:35,330 --> 00:29:38,970
Occasionally, they've been
seen together in exhibitions,
401
00:29:38,970 --> 00:29:40,930
but this is really
a very rare moment.
402
00:29:42,370 --> 00:29:44,290
Actually, the nice thing
about this now
403
00:29:44,290 --> 00:29:47,330
is that one, two, three, four,
404
00:29:47,330 --> 00:29:49,050
but this is actually
the first one you see,
405
00:29:49,050 --> 00:29:52,250
which is the first one he began,
so that's great.
406
00:29:52,250 --> 00:29:54,650
So we've got it.
407
00:29:54,650 --> 00:29:55,930
I think I'm happy with it,
408
00:29:55,930 --> 00:29:59,010
but we're about to see it go up
on the wall and then we'll know.
409
00:30:01,130 --> 00:30:05,170
Here we are,
it's a sculptor, it's a painter,
410
00:30:05,170 --> 00:30:08,610
it's an artist who is looking back
over his life
411
00:30:08,610 --> 00:30:10,570
and thinking about what
he's made before.
412
00:30:10,570 --> 00:30:13,770
Because he was really
trying to work out
413
00:30:13,770 --> 00:30:16,290
how to represent the body,
414
00:30:16,290 --> 00:30:18,890
but also how to represent
the way in which
415
00:30:18,890 --> 00:30:21,290
the body holds itself and falls.
416
00:30:21,290 --> 00:30:25,730
It has much more
emotional depth to it, I think.
417
00:30:25,730 --> 00:30:29,170
Conventionally,
they are shown all four on one wall,
418
00:30:29,170 --> 00:30:31,410
but we've decided to split them,
419
00:30:31,410 --> 00:30:34,290
so we end up now with
a very happy circumstance,
420
00:30:34,290 --> 00:30:37,610
somehow they just control the space
421
00:30:37,610 --> 00:30:41,290
and they, in a way, oblige you
to walk around in a particular way.
422
00:30:41,290 --> 00:30:43,810
It's undoubtedly one of
the high points of the show.
423
00:31:29,450 --> 00:31:31,530
"It is no longer the brush
424
00:31:31,530 --> 00:31:35,050
"that slips and slides
over the canvas,
425
00:31:35,050 --> 00:31:38,330
"it is the scissors that cut
into the paper and into the colour.
426
00:31:41,090 --> 00:31:44,650
"The conditions of the journey
are 100% different.
427
00:31:51,490 --> 00:31:55,090
"The contour of the figure springs
from the discovery of the scissors
428
00:31:55,090 --> 00:31:57,770
"that give it the movement
of circulating life.
429
00:32:03,770 --> 00:32:06,610
"By creating these coloured
paper cut-outs,
430
00:32:06,610 --> 00:32:10,890
"it seems to me that I am
happily anticipating things to come.
431
00:32:10,890 --> 00:32:14,530
"I don't think that I have
ever found such balance before.
432
00:32:20,850 --> 00:32:23,050
"But I know that
it will only be much later
433
00:32:23,050 --> 00:32:25,650
"that people will realise
to what extent
434
00:32:25,650 --> 00:32:29,050
"the work I am doing today
is in step with the future."
435
00:33:08,050 --> 00:33:14,730
When I was little, we had a portrait
of my father that I looked at a lot.
436
00:33:16,130 --> 00:33:20,130
The line of the nose
came through the corner of the eye.
437
00:33:20,130 --> 00:33:22,130
And when I was growing up, you know,
438
00:33:22,130 --> 00:33:23,890
you'd draw one eye here
and one eye here
439
00:33:23,890 --> 00:33:26,130
and the nose in the middle
and the mouth like that
440
00:33:26,130 --> 00:33:28,970
but this was all, kind of,
like, loose.
441
00:33:28,970 --> 00:33:32,810
And I always thought
that was so interesting,
442
00:33:32,810 --> 00:33:35,890
that this big guy
could break the rules.
443
00:33:37,810 --> 00:33:40,210
That certainly left me
444
00:33:40,210 --> 00:33:42,650
a kind of freedom that, you know,
was worth thinking about.
445
00:33:44,770 --> 00:33:47,450
I always felt, like,
this intensity with his work.
446
00:33:49,330 --> 00:33:52,570
These were stuck onto the wall
447
00:33:52,570 --> 00:33:55,570
and, in a sense, I mean,
there was no boundary,
448
00:33:55,570 --> 00:34:00,570
there was no frame to stop,
it was limitless.
449
00:34:00,570 --> 00:34:03,650
He was using colours
that we associate with youth
450
00:34:03,650 --> 00:34:09,130
and even really young youth,
you know? Childlike.
451
00:34:09,130 --> 00:34:12,570
And I think it's so beautiful
that at the end of his life,
452
00:34:12,570 --> 00:34:15,730
when he's in that wheelchair,
or in bed,
453
00:34:15,730 --> 00:34:19,570
what you see is an old man,
but what you get from him
454
00:34:19,570 --> 00:34:23,130
has nothing to do
with his physical appearance.
455
00:34:23,130 --> 00:34:25,410
It's all about expansion.
456
00:34:27,130 --> 00:34:30,130
This is just, for me,
a very moving piece.
457
00:34:30,130 --> 00:34:31,810
I mean, first of all to see
458
00:34:31,810 --> 00:34:37,810
the huge blocks of colour
seem so bold.
459
00:34:37,810 --> 00:34:41,050
And there's a beautiful green
that I love so much.
460
00:34:41,050 --> 00:34:44,010
I really love the greens.
461
00:34:44,010 --> 00:34:46,570
I know everybody is like,
"Matisse blue, Matisse blue,"
462
00:34:46,570 --> 00:34:48,770
'and of course the blues are great,
463
00:34:48,770 --> 00:34:50,970
'but I feel a relationship
to the green.'
464
00:34:50,970 --> 00:34:53,450
When I used to visit my grandfather
in New York,
465
00:34:53,450 --> 00:34:56,170
he had this hanging in his house.
This was always there.
466
00:34:56,170 --> 00:34:57,850
A beautiful piece.
467
00:34:57,850 --> 00:35:00,490
There are some people that say,
you know,
468
00:35:00,490 --> 00:35:03,290
that he was a very funny man,
very comical,
469
00:35:03,290 --> 00:35:05,290
and loved to have a good time.
470
00:35:05,290 --> 00:35:07,850
You know, you talk to somebody else
in the family
471
00:35:07,850 --> 00:35:12,410
and he was severe,
he was criticising all the time,
472
00:35:12,410 --> 00:35:14,930
so I think there was a wide range,
473
00:35:14,930 --> 00:35:17,250
but, I mean,
in order to do that kind of work,
474
00:35:17,250 --> 00:35:19,930
and the amount of work that he did,
475
00:35:19,930 --> 00:35:22,570
you know,
you can't be relaxed all the time.
476
00:35:22,570 --> 00:35:24,610
He never closed down,
477
00:35:24,610 --> 00:35:27,290
so he just kept open
and seemed to be open
478
00:35:27,290 --> 00:35:30,130
and more open and more expansive
throughout his life,
479
00:35:30,130 --> 00:35:33,770
but especially in the last period
when he was doing the cut-outs.
480
00:35:33,770 --> 00:35:38,810
I think it tells us
that his spirit was a free spirit.
481
00:36:04,010 --> 00:36:07,290
"Suppose I want to paint
a woman's body.
482
00:36:07,290 --> 00:36:10,410
"First of all,
I imbue it with grace and charm,
483
00:36:10,410 --> 00:36:13,050
"but I know that
I must give something more.
484
00:36:14,370 --> 00:36:16,970
"I will condense
the meaning of this body
485
00:36:16,970 --> 00:36:19,090
"by seeking its essential lines.
486
00:36:21,690 --> 00:36:26,650
"I don't put in eyes sometimes,
or a mouth for my figures,
487
00:36:26,650 --> 00:36:29,850
"but that's because
the face is anonymous,
488
00:36:29,850 --> 00:36:33,050
"because the expression is carried
by the whole picture.
489
00:36:33,050 --> 00:36:36,530
"Arms, legs, all the lines
act like parts of an orchestra.
490
00:36:40,370 --> 00:36:43,370
"The spectator's soul
becomes involved in the maze
491
00:36:43,370 --> 00:36:45,770
"of these multiple elements,
492
00:36:45,770 --> 00:36:49,530
"and so his imagination
is freed from all limits.
493
00:36:56,810 --> 00:36:59,290
"My models, human figures,
494
00:36:59,290 --> 00:37:01,970
"are never just extras
in an interior.
495
00:37:01,970 --> 00:37:05,090
"They are the principal theme
in my work."
496
00:37:23,450 --> 00:37:27,210
Matisse's studio was, at one time,
a large apartment in this block,
497
00:37:27,210 --> 00:37:29,410
the Hotel Regina.
498
00:37:29,410 --> 00:37:32,770
And then, for a long period,
it was his bedroom here in
499
00:37:32,770 --> 00:37:35,090
the Villa le Reve in Vence,
near Nice.
500
00:37:37,810 --> 00:37:41,970
Restricted by age and illness,
Matisse made this room his world.
501
00:37:43,490 --> 00:37:45,690
And here,
working with his assistants,
502
00:37:45,690 --> 00:37:48,010
everything was channelled
into the cut-outs.
503
00:37:48,010 --> 00:37:50,770
He could still paint,
he could still sculpt,
504
00:37:50,770 --> 00:37:52,730
he simply didn't want to.
505
00:37:55,130 --> 00:37:59,370
In March of '46, we went to see him
506
00:37:59,370 --> 00:38:02,530
and I was very astonished
when we arrived
507
00:38:02,530 --> 00:38:07,930
and at the door his secretary,
Lydia Delectorskaya, was there,
508
00:38:07,930 --> 00:38:11,210
she took us inside and,
to my utter surprise,
509
00:38:11,210 --> 00:38:13,850
everything was in darkness,
510
00:38:13,850 --> 00:38:19,010
so I could not expect that
from the painter of colour.
511
00:38:19,010 --> 00:38:21,690
And finally, we arrived in a room,
512
00:38:21,690 --> 00:38:26,010
which was a little bit smaller than
that big room which was in darkness.
513
00:38:26,010 --> 00:38:28,930
And there,
there was a bit of normal light.
514
00:38:28,930 --> 00:38:30,810
And Matisse was in bed.
515
00:38:30,810 --> 00:38:36,290
Because he had had
a terrible surgery in 1941,
516
00:38:36,290 --> 00:38:39,930
and after that,
he was, most of the time, in bed.
517
00:38:39,930 --> 00:38:45,650
He called that part of his life,
from 1941 to 1954, when he died,
518
00:38:45,650 --> 00:38:50,450
he called that, "Le sursis,"
which means that he was given
519
00:38:50,450 --> 00:38:53,090
a bit of extra time,
what he might not have had.
520
00:39:42,610 --> 00:39:46,850
Because of his surgery
and because he could not stand...
521
00:39:46,850 --> 00:39:50,530
Well, you know, when you paint,
most of the time, you are standing
522
00:39:50,530 --> 00:39:53,650
and, in the case of Matisse,
it was no longer possible.
523
00:39:53,650 --> 00:39:59,690
So... And he also had to stay in bed
the largest part of the day,
524
00:39:59,690 --> 00:40:04,850
so from his bed,
either he could have some papers
525
00:40:04,850 --> 00:40:07,570
put on the ceiling
and with a long...
526
00:40:07,570 --> 00:40:11,610
Charcoal on a long rod,
he would paint from his bed
527
00:40:11,610 --> 00:40:15,810
into the ceiling, or he would,
with very large scissors,
528
00:40:15,810 --> 00:40:17,730
cut out in pure colour.
529
00:40:19,770 --> 00:40:23,690
Since Picasso and myself
went to see him rather often,
530
00:40:23,690 --> 00:40:26,090
many times we saw him
in the process of
531
00:40:26,090 --> 00:40:31,050
doing one of those carvings
in pure colour.
532
00:40:31,050 --> 00:40:35,690
It was interesting,
because when he had done one shape,
533
00:40:35,690 --> 00:40:39,690
then, he had his secretary,
Lydia Delectorskaya,
534
00:40:39,690 --> 00:40:42,930
pin it to the wall
and then he would say,
535
00:40:42,930 --> 00:40:44,050
for the second piece,
536
00:40:44,050 --> 00:40:46,330
"Higher, lower, to the right,
or to the left."
537
00:40:46,330 --> 00:40:51,290
And then again cut
in a different colour,
538
00:40:51,290 --> 00:40:54,410
another shape,
and put it also somewhere.
539
00:40:54,410 --> 00:40:56,690
So it was interesting,
you could see him at work.
540
00:44:45,530 --> 00:44:48,250
From 1947 to 1951,
541
00:44:48,250 --> 00:44:51,330
Matisse worked on the designs
for what would be, in effect,
542
00:44:51,330 --> 00:44:56,650
a three-dimensional cut-out,
the Chapel Of The Rosary in Vence.
543
00:45:15,970 --> 00:45:19,970
Monique Bourgeois had been employed
by Matisse in 1941
544
00:45:19,970 --> 00:45:22,490
to help him recover
from his cancer operation.
545
00:45:23,570 --> 00:45:26,890
By 1947, she had become a nun,
working in a nursing home
546
00:45:26,890 --> 00:45:30,290
only a few minutes
from the Villa le Reve.
547
00:45:30,290 --> 00:45:33,210
Matisse heard of their plans
to build a chapel in the grounds
548
00:45:33,210 --> 00:45:35,690
and out of gratitude
for her past care,
549
00:45:35,690 --> 00:45:39,610
he offered to both fund
and design this new chapel.
550
00:45:41,570 --> 00:45:44,410
It was an enormous job
551
00:45:44,410 --> 00:45:47,370
and faced opposition
from within the Catholic Church,
552
00:45:47,370 --> 00:45:51,250
but the result is, for many,
Matisse's crowning glory.
553
00:45:57,810 --> 00:46:02,770
"This Chapel is, for me,
the culmination of a life of work,
554
00:46:02,770 --> 00:46:06,330
"and the coming into flower
of an enormous,
555
00:46:06,330 --> 00:46:08,970
"sincere and difficult effort.
556
00:46:11,850 --> 00:46:15,090
"From a space
of bright shadow-less sunlight,
557
00:46:15,090 --> 00:46:18,290
"which envelops our spirit
on the left,
558
00:46:18,290 --> 00:46:22,890
"we find, passing to the right,
the tile walls.
559
00:46:22,890 --> 00:46:27,130
"They are the visual equivalent
of a large, open book
560
00:46:27,130 --> 00:46:29,610
"where the white pages
carry the signs
561
00:46:29,610 --> 00:46:31,690
"explaining the musical part
562
00:46:31,690 --> 00:46:34,450
"composed by
the stained-glass windows.
563
00:46:37,530 --> 00:46:42,610
"To give the idea of immensity
within a very limited surface.
564
00:46:42,610 --> 00:46:45,410
"That's what I did
in the chapel at Vence.
565
00:46:45,410 --> 00:46:48,530
"It's a convent chapel and,
in spite of everything,
566
00:46:48,530 --> 00:46:52,490
"it seems to me that I created
the idea of vastness
567
00:46:52,490 --> 00:46:53,730
"which touches the soul.
568
00:46:58,410 --> 00:47:02,770
"For a very long time, I wanted to
synthesise my contribution.
569
00:47:03,930 --> 00:47:06,650
"Then, this opportunity came along.
570
00:47:06,650 --> 00:47:11,170
"I was able, at the same time,
to do architecture, stained-glass,
571
00:47:11,170 --> 00:47:15,490
"large mural drawings on tile
and to unite these elements,
572
00:47:15,490 --> 00:47:18,210
"to fuse them into
one perfect unity.
573
00:47:21,250 --> 00:47:24,650
"All art worthy of the name
is religious.
574
00:47:25,810 --> 00:47:28,570
"Be it a creation of lines,
or colours,
575
00:47:28,570 --> 00:47:32,210
"if it is not religious,
it doesn't exist.
576
00:47:32,210 --> 00:47:33,610
"If it is not religious,
577
00:47:33,610 --> 00:47:37,130
"it is only a matter
of documentary art, anecdotal art,
578
00:47:37,130 --> 00:47:41,290
"which is no longer art.
Which has nothing to do with art.
579
00:47:50,290 --> 00:47:53,570
"I want the chapel visitors
to experience
580
00:47:53,570 --> 00:47:55,530
"a lightening of spirit.
581
00:47:55,530 --> 00:47:57,970
"So that,
even without being believers,
582
00:47:57,970 --> 00:48:01,170
"they sense a milieu
of spiritual elevation,
583
00:48:01,170 --> 00:48:05,970
"where thought is clarified,
where feeling itself is lightened.
584
00:48:10,770 --> 00:48:15,210
"My only religion is the love
of the work to be created,
585
00:48:15,210 --> 00:48:19,050
"the love of creation,
and great sincerity.
586
00:48:23,290 --> 00:48:26,330
"I did the Chapel
with the sole intention
587
00:48:26,330 --> 00:48:28,690
"of expressing myself profoundly."
588
00:49:17,330 --> 00:49:21,330
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