Henri Matisse: Drawing Life

Appreciating an exceptional painting is often simple enough – the colour, movement, light and form often provide hints at the artist’s process without revealing the true extent of study behind the work. But if we were to strip away the layers of paint and reveal the bare lines behind the final product, would it be as revealing as we had hoped and could it possibly hold the same energy without the strokes of paint?

The importance of drawing as both a conceptual precursor to painting and as a creative expression of its own merit is the basis of The Gallery of Modern Art’s newest major exhibition, Henri Matisse: Drawing Life, showcasing over 300 works on paper by the artist and proving his reputation as a leading figure in modern art.

The exhibition provides an unprecedented insight into the artist’s daily practice of drawing, from early academic sketches and engravings to ink drawings, woodblock prints, monotype, lithography and etching. Famous for his use of bold colour and often fauvist style, Henri Matisse: Drawing Life gives viewers a glimpse at the drawings behind the paintings, and showcases Matisse’s mastery of line and form with drawings that are at once simple and complex.

Included in the exhibition are collections of portraits of the artist’s friends and family, self-portraits, nudes and the instantly recognisable reclining odalisques. Through these collections you begin to get a sense of the artist’s creative development and the ever-increasing skill with which he could capture emotion and sensuality throughout his long career. It is this depth of understanding of a form, object or scene that inspires viewers to not only view Matisse’s drawings as significant works of art, but as expressions of the unique beauty of life.

Henri Matisse: Drawing Life
Gallery of Modern Art
December 3, 2011 to March 4, 2012
For more information, visit qag.qld.gov.au