Henri Matisse, Le cirque (The Circus) from Jazz, 1947

Buffalo AKG Art Museum, RCA1948:11.1.2: https://buffaloakg.org/artworks/rca19481112-le-cirque-circus-jazz

When, in 1887, the son of a grain merchant from the cold Nord region of France went to Paris to study law, few could have imagined that just a few years later he would lead one of the most radical movements in the history of western art. Rejecting everything but colour and feeling, Matisse and his friends became known as les Fauves (or Wild Beasts). Critics gasped in horror, while a few savvy art dealers began to understand that things would never be the same again - and got their cheque books out!

Forever linked with the south of France, where light and colour reigned supreme, Matisse spent half a century finding new ways to express the simplest but most elusive of ideals: joie de vivre.

Step inside the colour box!

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