Matisse in Tahiti

Book Description
In 1930, aged 60, Henri Matisse travelled to Tahiti on a steamer from San Francisco. His passion for the work of Paul Gauguin, the great French painter who had abandoned France for Tahiti in the late nineteenth century, led Matisse to follow Gauguin's footsteps and to discover for himself the new forms, the amazing light and colors of Oceania. Matisse lived like Robinson Crusoe, strode the streets of Papeete at the break of dawn, canoed, swam and idved amongst the coral, fish and shells. All the while he drew prodigiously, wrote letters, and took photographs, many of which have never before been published. A careful observer of the sea, the sky, unknown nature, the intricate levels, and Polynesians, whom he compares to sea gods, Matisse absorbed the light of the Pacific: "purity that gives so much sparkle to colors". The trip had a profound and lasting influence on his work, particularly the late gouache cut-outs; this book gives the reader an intensely personal insight into the mind of Matisse in Tahiti.


About the Author
Paule Landon has lived in Tahiti for 30 years. A founding member of the Association of Friends of the Gauguin Museum, she organizes exhibitions, conferences about Gauguin and the author Victor Segalen. She has written guidebooks on Polynesia and a volume dedicated to the painters of Tahiti. She is currently Director of the Gauguin Museum in Tahiti.


Buy from Amazon     Compare Prices

This book reveals the influence of Matisse's stay in Tahiti on his art works. A book full of lively anecdotes and sketches by Matisse-including previously unpublished illustrations.


Buy from Barnes & Noble     Compare Prices