Matisse - Invitation to the Voyage Art Book

This is an exhibition catalogue from the Swiss institution Fondation Beyeler. The book follows a retrospective that covers Matisse's entire artistic career – from the turn of the century to his later years.

It begins with the early paintings around 1900 and continues through the intensive use of colour of the Fauvist period, on to the formally exploratory works of the 1910s and the more intimate interiors from Nice and the 1930s. The finale is dedicated to the well-known papercuts – late works where colour and form are united in a reduced and rhythmic imagery.

The exhibition and catalogue are structured as a journey through the artist's life and work, inspired by Charles Baudelaire's poem Invitation to the Journey (1857). The essays contribute with in-depth perspectives on Matisse's importance for modern art and his visual language.