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In the brilliant light of his final years, Matisse invented a new language: that of cut-out forms and pure color. More than 230 paintings, drawings, books, and cut-out gouaches trace, between 1941 and 1954, the journey of an artist who was free and in perpetual motion.
The exhibition Matisse. 1941–1954 sheds light on the final years of Henri Matisse's career, between 1941 and 1954, through more than 230 works—including paintings, drawings, cut-out gouaches, illustrated books, textiles, and stained glass—drawn from the Centre Pompidou collection and major international loans. It reveals the multidisciplinary nature of his practice during this period while bringing together an exceptional ensemble of cut-out gouaches. At nearly 80 years old, Matisse reinvented himself with cut-out gouache, a medium he elevated into an autonomous plastic language, free and capable of reaching the universal through its simplicity. Well-suited both for reproduction and monumental commissions, this technique allowed him to fully express the decorative dimension of his art. The exhibition demonstrates how painting remained at the heart of his approach, far from being supplanted by the cut-outs; on the contrary, it unfolded with ever greater space, intensity, and color. Among the essential bodies of work gathered in the exhibition are the masterful and ultimate series of Interiors of Vence from 1947-1948, the Jazz album, the Themes and Variations series as well as brush-and-ink drawings; the main elements of the program for the Chapel of Vence; the monumental panels La Gerbe and Les Acanthes, and, as a highlight, exceptionally brought together, the large figures in cut-out gouache: The Sadness of the King, Zulma, The Creole Dancer, and the famous Blue Nudes. Conceived as a journey through the painter's universe, the exhibition restores the vibrant atmosphere of his constantly transforming studio. An invitation to discover Matisse's flourishing "garden," room by room.
Price: From 0 to 19 euros. Reservations open from January 19, 2026.
Source: paris.fr — photo: Service de la documentation photographique du MNAM - Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI