Customer Reviews

Chasing Matisse: A Year in France Living My Dream

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The author, a writer and artist, is fascinated by the work of Matisse. He and his wife, also a writer, sell their house, leave their desk jobs and go off to France to follow in the footsteps of Matisse. The author chronicles their travels to the places that inspired Matisse - Paris, Collioure in the Pyrenees, Corsica, Belle-Ile off the coast of Britany and the South of France.

In these places the author learns not just to look but also to see. The facts of Matisse's life and his development as an artist are interwoven with the travel adventures of the author and his wife as they live their dream of starting over in a foreign country. A look into the soul of an artist and what we can learn from him if we seek to live the creative life, this book is vastly superior to the shallowness of "C'est La Vie" by Susie Gershman and her vacuous tale of leaving the US to live in Paris.

The only thing missing from "Chasing Matisse" is a map so that the reader can see the locations of the various places that are visited. It's also helpful to have on hand a copy of "Henri Matisse: A Retrospective", Museum of Modern Art 1992, while you read so that you can see the paintings that the author mentions extensively in the book.

I'm an American living in France for over 5 years now and I am an amateur painter. And I really like Matisse. So I was really excited when I found this book. I really like the author's humor, he turns what could be boring descriptions of their trip into very funny tales. The book is a mix of a peek into their lives, their adventure in France, the characters they meet, and oh yes, Matisse. I learned a lot in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's sketches and his website.

However, all that said, the book left me wanting more. I got the impression that at the end the author simply got tired of writing or ran out of material. For example, their summer in france only gets a few pages. What was the impact of his search for Matisse? How did it impact his art? Did he just stop chasing Matisse 3 months before he came home? I also would have liked to see more of his sketches as they really helped to imagine the places they went, the hotel rooms, etc.

Overall it was a great book. If you are interested in France, Matisse, or painting, I highly recommend this book!

If you've read Peter Mayle and Frances Mayes, you might be expecting a humorous look at life in another country. This book is not like that. Morgan is a thoughtful, introspective artist who risks all to follow his passion, and he brings us along with him as he travels around France to get inside the head and heart of Henri Matisse. This is a wonderful, informative study of Matisse and his struggles for artistic identity as he singlehandedly explodes color onto the drab palette of French art. It is also a personal journey for Morgan, and you will be touched by his sensitivity and candor. A must-read for anyone who contemplates midlife.

Chasing Matisse: A Year in France Living My Dream

What a load of pretentious nonsense! The author combines samples of his own work (which are child-like), a poor travelogue of France and a brief, dry biography of a great painter (with few original insights) in an offering that had me bored from page one. He asks for sympathy for his financially 'risk-taking' venture whilst telling us of his efforts to sell his house (at $79,000 under value) and fly his children over to France to celebrate Christmas whilst regailing us with descriptions of the expensive meals and swish hotels he stays in. We don't need the constant admiring prose for Henri's work - it speaks for itself.

Oh the places you will go as you read James Morgan's fine book, Chasing Matisse. Morgan and his wife, Beth, leave their comfortable lives in Little Rock, Arkansas and set out for France to visit the places Henri Matisse once inhabited. The physical journey that Morgan takes the reader on makes the book worthwhile; however, it is the psychological journey Morgan takes as an artist that makes this book particularly compelling. Morgan, an accomplished writer, chooses to pursue a lifelong dream, painting. And, who better to lead him on this quest than his hero, Matisse? As he visits the places that stirred Matisse's imagination, Morgan learns "to see" as an artist, and he shares those sights as well as his insights with the reader. It takes a lot of courage to uproot oneself in order to pursue a dream, but Morgan does so and describes the process with such honesty and grace that the reader cannot help but be inspired. If you have ever thought about changing your life, you have to read Chasing Matisse. It's a book that stays with you long after the final page is turned.

Here I am trapped in a dull grey/brown Northeast winter when I picked up this book and went on a great trip! As an artist I really loved Mr. Morgan's passion for Matisse, for art in general and I loved his sketches! As a traveler who never gets to travel enough I loved the journey he took me on through France. As a matter of fact I'm so inspired that I'm heading to France this June and I'm going to take another long look at Matisse! So if you love art...this is a terrific book, if you love travel...this is a terrific book. If you love both then you're a terrific person who will really enjoy this book!

This is the story of a couple's journey from a safe, secure home in Little Rock, Arkansas, to the nomadic life of gypsies in France. Jim and Beth decide that "the unexamined life is not worth living" (my quote from Socrates). They sell their home (eventually, after months in France, with money getting short), and follow in the footsteps of Henri Matisse- Jim's new role model, who urges us to see as if we were children--to really see things as they are. For me, it's a story of Jim's moving from the male infatuation with bravado a la Ernest Hemmingway (literary icon and Jim's former role model) to the "gentler, kinder" exploration of the true artistic genius of Matisse-- from killing wild game in Africa to prove your masculinity to contemplating, and then seeking to re-create beauty--the kind often associated with women (or, the softer side of men). Matisse sought serenity through luxe, calme, et volupte' .
Pushing 60 when we meet him in the book, Jim was a former editor of Playboy magazine, and of Southern magazine. He had dabbled in drawing as a teen, and was pretty good at it. Through some more schooling, and a lot of practice, Jim rekindles his interest in art, and sets out to follow in the footsteps of Matisse's life journey. (Beth's travelogues online offer further warmth, humor and insight into their journey.) The resulting drawings and paintings of Jim [...] are the perfect complement to his story. Jim refers to himself as an amateur painter. This is too humble an assessment. Jim's drawings are superb. They echo so perfectly his words in the book--and in fact, truly exemplify luxe, calme, et volupte'. I hope his next project will be a coffee table volume of his drawings and paintings. The colors are magnificent, and his lines flow like the curves of delicate wrought ironwork. Bravo for a job well done.
Ray Ruiz

Little did I know when I bought this book that it would be such a great companion on my trip to Paris in May. I began reading on the long flight from the West Coast and was immediately intrigued with the first line on the cover about leaving everything to start a new adventure. Then I arrive in Paris and see posters everywhere touting a new exhibit for Henri Matisse in the museum at the Luxumbourg Gardens. The whole experience was enhanced by the wonderful insights of this author. Not only have I learned new things about France and Matisse and painting but I have a new appreciation for the wonderful opportunities that keep appearing no matter what our age. I can't wait to read his next book!

This very enjoyable read should appeal to the interests of several types of individuals. For those who like to travel, the book takes you through parts of France as well as Corsica and Morocco. For those who appreciate art and artists, the life of Matisse unfolds in unique ways throughout the book. For all us who dream of leaving home to pursue the fantasy of living in a different culture with fascinating people, this book helps you realize that it can be done. For me it is a reminder of the 5 wonderful months we spent in Nice. We were not chasing Matisse, just the Nicois food customs and way of life. With each page I lived our dream once again.

Short of being there yourself, what is more fun than to travel relaxed in your favorite chair with a nice,new book that transports you to France, to Paris, to Belle-Ile off the Brittany coast, Corsica, the French Riviera, and you get to go without having to struggle with armloads of luggage?

In Chasing Matisse, Jim Morgan and his wife, Beth Arnold, leave a fine life in Little Rock, Arkansas to follow the elusive stuff we call our dreams. With some misgivings, they pack-up; stash away what they cannot take and say goodbye to family, friends and pets. And we, the lucky readers, are invited to go with them. Along the way, we discover that Chasing Matisse is more than just a well-written travelogue, it is a book about longings and discovery, about shared joy and love as much as it is about France or Matisse.

Two of James Morgan's finest qualities that shine through in this book are his passion for art and painting, and his honesty. He chases Matisse as a student follows after a master. He crosses France seeking color, line and freedom. As we travel with him, we learn that Jim Morgan has gifts of his own to offer, his words, his own lines, well chosen and colorful, plus he has a welcoming penchant for seeing and tasting the world.

The book feeds the delicious little "what-ifs" in our own lives, the little itches that ask if someday we too might. . . .

If you have enjoyed Frances Mayes in Italy and Peter Mayle in France, you will love James Morgan in Chasing Matisse.