Original artwork description:

After 1948 Matisse was prevented from painting by ill health but, although confined to bed, he produced a number of works known as gouaches découpées.

These were made by cutting or tearing shapes from paper which had been painted with gouache. The shapes were placed and pasted down by an assistant working under Matisse's instruction. Some of the later ones, such as L'Escargot (French for The Snail), were of very large dimensions, ±2.80m x 2.80m.

'I first of all drew the snail from nature, holding it. I became aware of an unrolling, I found an image in my mind purified of the shell, then I took the scissors,' Matisse said. He has combined pairs of complementary colours - red/green, orange/blue, yellow/purple - to create a particularly vibrant effect. He gave the picture the alternative title La Composition Chromatique (Chromatic Composition).

Materials used:

Acrylic on masonite

Tags: