Matisse: From Color to Architecture (Hardcover)

by Rene Percheron (Author), Christian Brouder (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Few artists have explored genres and techniques with such curiosity and pleasure as Henri Matisse, whose fascination with the relationship between interior and exterior forms occupied him throughout his career. In the early 1950s, he chose to dedicate his last years to the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence and the nursery school in his hometown of Le Cateau-Cambrésis, both in the South of France. These sites represent a culmination of all Matisse's earlier visual and spatial explorations.

This book sheds new light on the development of Matisse's oeuvre, which spans some 60 years. Lavishly illustrated with almost 400 images, this deluxe volume includes beautiful reproductions of the artist's most famous paintings paired with lesser-known documents and photographs culled from the archives of his estate. The authors also gathered first-hand accounts related by numerous participants in the Vence and Le Cateau projects. The result is a fascinating, almost day-to-day look at Matisse's process as he created these works, and an intimate portrait of both the artist and the man. AUTHOR BIO: The late René Percheron was head of the museum of national antique art in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, and a lecturer on the history of art and photography. Christian Brouder is a researcher at CNRS, the national organization for scientific research in Paris.

About the Author
The late René Percheron was head of the museum of national antique art in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, and a lecturer on the history of art and photography. Christian Brouder is a researcher at CNRS, the national organization for scientific research in Paris.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (November 23, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810955822
• ISBN-13: 978-0810955820
• Product Dimensions: 13.2 x 10.2 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #387,822 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #3 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Fauvism
  #15 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Artists, A-Z > ( M-O ) > Matisse, Henri

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Offering an intimate portrait of the artist in work and life, January 4, 2005

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Primarily known for his luminous color paintings, the French artist Henri Matisse was also involved in designing stunningly beautiful stained glass windows and even ventured into the realm of architecture as well. Matisse: From Color To Architecture is a seminal work by Rene Percheron and Christian Brouder and the first to focus on these lesser known endeavors by one of France's most renowned painters. Offering an intimate portrait of the artist in work and life with a focus upon Matisse's work in his final years on the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence and the nursery school in his hometown of Le Cateayu-Cambresis (both of these buildings are located in the south of France), this 384 page compendium is enhanced with 396 illustrations (247 of which are in full color) and includes beautiful reproductions of Matisse's most famous paintings drawn from the collections of Centre Georges Pompidou, the Hermitage Museum, the Barnes Foundation, and the National Gallery of Art. These works are paired with documents and photographs culled from the archives of the Matisse estate. Included are first-hand accounts from the participants in the Vence and Le Cateau projects. Matisse: From Color To Architecture is an original and recommended contribution to personal, professional, academic, and community library Art History and Architectural Studies collections.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very satisfying book, May 5, 2009

By	HWJ3 (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

Great photography that puts you inside from many great angles and outside from all around that beautiful space for worship. The description is also interesting, though sometimes too detailed about the process and the back and forth between the interested parties. The photos of HM's process of setting up his hotel rooms as a studio are fascinating, iconic. Also so many photos of details like the priest's vestments he designed, the experimental drawings he did leading up to the final forms and the summary of his early work as it lead into the later glass and architectural work: so well presented, so many large photos...