Picasso and Matisse: Revolutionary Rivals

PICASSO AND MATISSE: REVOLUTIONARY RIVALS

About the Show

Throughout both of their careers, Picasso and Mat-isse maintained a fervent artistic rivalry that produced dazzling and profound works. This relationship ena-bled both artists to become innovators of their time, and it is difficult to speak of one without addressing the other’s influence.

In this exhibition we are pleased to feature master-works from both Picasso and Matisse; works that highlight their shared interests in mythological sub-jects, technical innovations in the linoleum cut me-dium, and their impact on the modernist art move-ment.

- Sallie Hirshberg

COVER IMAGE: JACQUELINE DE PROFILE A DROITE - PICASSO & FRAICHIE SUR DES LITS DE VIOLETTES - MATISSEQUOTES: MATISSE & PICASSO BY PAUL TRACHTMAN, SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2003

Table of Content

Picasso Women . . . 4

Picasso Vollard . . . 12

Matisse Pasiphae . . . 21

Matisse Jazz . . . 38

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TETE DE FEMME (FRANCOISE) - PICASSOORIGINAL ETCHING, DRYPOINT & AQUATINT

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Picasso’s WomenThroughout his life, Picasso’s relationships with women were frequent, passionate, and sometimes scandalous. His various mistresses and wives, often overlapping, tre-mendously influenced his art, and it has been said that Pi-casso changed companions as often as he changed paint-ings styles. Picasso had two wives, Olga and Jacqueline, and many mistresses. But one mistress, Franciose Gilot, stands out among the rest and was the mother of two of Picasso’s four children. She was the inspiration for many of the artist’s works in the 1940’s and early 1950’s. Frus-trated with Picasso’s relationships with other women, Franciose eventually left Picasso in 1953, but their rela-tionship has been immortalized through his stunningly expressive portraits of her.

In the end of his life, Picasso’s second wife, Jaqueline Roque became another artistic muse for Picasso. In one year, he created more works of art based on her than any of his other loves, painting over seventy portraits.

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JACQUELINE LISANT - PICASSOLITHOGRAPH PRINTED IN BLACK INK ON WOVEN PAPER

GRAND PROFIL - PICASSOLITHOGRAPH PRINTED IN BLACK INK ON WOVEN PAPER

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JACQUELINE AU BANDEAU DE FACE - PICASSOORIGINAL LINOCUT PRINTED IN FOUR COLORS

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Matisse was also celebrated for his representation of women and it is no coincidence that picasso took notice. it is in these portraits that we see matisse’s

mastery of soft lines and abstracted expressions.

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TETE DE JEUNE FILLE - MATISSELITHOGRAPH PRINTED IN

BROWN INK ON JAPON

MARINE - MATISSELITHOGRAPH PRINTED IN

BROWN INK ON JAPON

PLACE BERTIN - MATISSELITHOGRAPH PRINTED IN BROWN INK ON JAPON

RIVAGE - MATISSELITHOGRAPH PRINTED IN BROWN INK ON JAPON

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LA FEMME AU FAUTEUIL- PICASSOLITHOGRAPH PRINTED IN BLACK INK

ON WOVEN PAPER

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LA FEMME AU FAUETEUIL NO. 2 - PICASSOLITHOGRAPH PRINTED IN BLACK INK ON WOVEN PAPER

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Picasso’s VollardPicasso’s Vollard Suite exemplifies the painter’s love for Greek Mythology, highlighting the story of Pyg-malion. The suite is Picasso’s most well-known and highly sought-after because of its classic subject matter, brilliant compositions, and delicate line.

These fine works on paper are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Solo-mon R. Guggenheim in New York, & The National Gallery in Washington to name a few.

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GARCON ET DORMEUSE A LA CHANDELLE - PICASSOETCHING & AQUATINT WITH BURIN & SCRAPER IN BLACK INK

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MARIE-THERESE REVANT DE METAMORPHOSES: ELLE-MEME ET LE SCULPTEUR BUVANT AVEC UN JEUNE AC-TEUR GRECJOUANT LE ROLE DU MINOTAURE - PICASSOORIGINAL ETCHING WITH DRYPOINT, SCRAPER AND BURIN

MINOTAURE, UNE COUPE A LA MAIN, ET UNE JEUNE FEMME - PICASSOORIGINAL ETCHING PRINTED IN BLACK INK ON MONTVAL

In the end, everything depends on one’s self, on a fire in the belly with a thousand rays. Nothing else counts. That is why, for example, Matisse is Matisse . . . He’s got the sun in his gut. - Picasso

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FEMMES ENTRE ELLES AVEC VOYEUR SCULPTE (CLIN D’OEIL AU BAIN TURC) - PICASSO

ETCHING WITH SCRAPER & BURIN PRINTED IN BLACK INK

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TROIS COMEDIENS AVEC BUSTE DE MARIE-THERESA - PICASSO

DRYPOINT PRINTED IN BLACK INK

SCULPTOR, MODEL, & SCULPTURE: SEATED - PICASSO

DRYPOINT PRINTED IN BLACK INK

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SCULPTEURS, MODELES ET SCULPTURE - PICASSOETCHING PRINTED IN BLACK INK

PASIPHAE - MATISSE, LINOCUT PRINTED IN BLUE INK ON WHITE RIVES

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Matisse’s PasiphaéPasiphaé is a contemporary retelling of the story of Pasiphaé and the Minoan bull. In a union of Matisse’s art and Henri de Montherlant’s play, it is one of Matisse’s most intensive printmaking experiences. For each scene, Ma-tisse illustrated a favorite phrase from de Montherlant’s Pasiphaé and interpreted it in several different ways. The white-line linocuts for the illustrations and decorations re-spond not to the tale’s tragedy but to themes of passion, feminine beauty and love; only Picasso’s linoleum engrav-ings rival them for sheer virtuosity.

It is reported that in the same year Vollard was published, Matisse conceived the idea of illustrating a book of de Montherlant’s poetry. One theory regarding how the Mi-noan myth retained Matisse’s attention is attributed to his desire to enter into a dialogue with Picasso, whose fascina-tion with the Minoan theme went back to 1932-33. Picasso had already devoted a series of etchings to the theme of the Minotaur included in the Vollard Suite which appeared in 1937.

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ET IL FAUDRA MOURIR SANS AVOIR TUÉ LE VENT - MATISSEORIGINAL LINOCUT PRINTED IN BLACK INK ON WHITE RIVES

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EMPORTES JUSQU’ AUX CONSTELLATIONS - MATISSE

ORIGINAL LINOCUT PRINTED IN BLACK INK ON WHITE RIVES

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...DORS, DORMEUSE AUX LONGS CILS - MATISSEORIGINAL LINOCUT PRINTED IN BLACK INK ON WHITE RIVES

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...DORS, DORMEUSE AUX LONGS CILS - MATISSE

ORIGINAL LINOCUT PRINTED IN BLACK INK ON WHITE RIVES

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...MAIS SOUDAIN LE SOLEIL, SEC-OUANT - MATISSEORIGINAL LINOCUT PRINTED IN BLACK INK ON WHITE RIVES

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...EMPORTES JUSQU’ AUX CONSTELLATIONS - MATISSE

ORIGINAL LINOCUT PRINTED IN BLACK INK ON WHITE RIVES

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...J’IRAI A CE QUE J’AI VOULU, SANS FIERTE COMME SANS REMOURDS - MATISSEORIGINAL LINOCUT PRINTED IN BLACK INK ON WHITE RIVES

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...ELLE Y POSE SA JOUE... ELLE L’EMBRASSE - MATISSE

ORIGINAL LINOCUT PRINTED IN BLACK INK ON WHITE RIVES

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...’SEMBLABLE À UN CHEF DE GUERRE DE SEIZE ANS... - MATISSEORIGINAL LINOCUT PRINTED IN BLACK INK ON WHITE RIVES

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...’SEULE, AU PIED DU GRAND CA-ROUBIER - MATISSE

ORIGINAL LINOCUT PRINTED IN BLACK INK ON WHITE RIVES

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ON DIRAIT QU’ELLE NE M’A JAMAIS VUE... I & II - MATISSEORIGINAL LINOCUT PRINTED IN BLACK INK ON WHITE RIVES

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J’IRAI A CE QUE J’AI VOULU, SANS FIERTE COMME SANS REMORDS - MATISSE

ORIGINAL LINOCUT PRINTED IN BLACK INK ON WHITE RIVES

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Picasso once said, ‘If I were not making the paint-ings I make, I would paint like Matisse,’ and Matisse said much the same about Picasso. One begins to see, when their paintings are set side by side, that their choices depended as much on their personalities, their temperaments and emotions, as on their skills and styles as painters. They were both figurative, and both abstract.

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ORNEMENTS, BANDEAUX ET CULS-DE-LAMPE I & II - MATISSEORIGINAL LINOCUT PRINTED IN BLACK INK ON WHITE RIVES

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TÊTE DE FEMME OR SCULPTURE. PROFIL DE MARIE-THÉRÈSE - PICASSO

ORIGINAL ETCHING PRINTED IN BLACK INK

M. LOYAL - MATISSEHAND-COLORED POCHOIR

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You have got to be able to picture side by side everything Matisse and I were doing at that time. No one has ever looked at Matisse’s painting more carefully than I; and no one has looked at mine more carefully than he. - Picasso

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Matisse’s JazzThe twenty brilliant color pochoir stencil prints which comprise the album Jazz were designed by the art-ist in 1944 during a twelve month hospital convales-cence. Matisse cut his shapes from specially colored papers and arranged them into collages that were later brought to life as hand-stenciled prints by his publisher Efstratios Teriade. The bright and lively plates explore circus themes as metaphors for the universal struggles and triumphs of artists.

Matisse also composed text to accompany the im-ages expressing his philosophy on life and art. It is the only publication both written and illustrated by the artist. Jazz is a tribute to Matisse’s quest for perfection in form and color and a very personal ex-pression of his fundamental principles. In Matisse’s own words: “Jazz is rhythm and meaning”.

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LE CHEVAL, L’ECUYER ET LE CLOWN- MATISSEHAND-COLORED POCHOIR

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LE COW-BOY - MATISSEHAND-COLORED POCHOIR ON ARCHES PAPER

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PICADOR II - PICASSOORIGINAL LITHOGRAPH PRINTED IN TWENTY -FOUR COLORS

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LA NAGEUSE DANS L’AQUARIUM (SWIMMER IN THE AQUARIUM) - MATISSEHAND-COLORED POCHOIR

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Tomorrow, Sunday, at 4 o’clock, visit from Picasso. As I’m expecting to see him tomorrow, my mind is at work. I’m doing this propaganda show in London with him. I can imagine the room with my pictures on one side, and his on the other. It’s as if I were going to cohabit with an epileptic. –Matisse

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LE LAGON (LAGOON) - MATISSEHAND-COLORED POCHOIR

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LES CODOMAS - MATISSEHAND-COLORED POCHOIR ON ARCHES PAPER

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COMPOSITION - PICASSOORIGINAL LITHOGRAPH PRINTED IN THREE COLORS

COMPOSITION AU VERRE ET A LA POMME - PICASSOORIGINAL LITHOGRAPH PRINTED IN THREE COLORS

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L’ATELIER DE CANNES (THE CANNE STUDIO) - PICASSO ORIGINAL LITHOGRAPH PRINTED IN TWO COLORS

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L’ECUYERE ET LES CLOWNS (THE HORSEWOMAN AND THE CLOWNS) - PICASSOORIGINAL LITHOGRAPH PRINTED IN THREE COLORS

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LA DANSE (THE DANCE) - PICASSOLITHOGRAPH

LE DANSEUSE - PICASSO, LITHOGRAPH (MIRRORED)