Matisse from The Baltimore Museum of Art

EXHIBITION OVERVIEW

Toronto is the ONLY CANADIAN STOP. See colourful and vivid paintings by Matisse, one of the most widely recognized artists of the 20th century. The 75 works also include extraordinary drawings, plus the finest collection of Matisse sculptures found anywhere in the world.

Matisse From The Baltimore Museum of Art showcases 33 paintings, 16 sculptures, 25 drawings and one illustrated book covering more than 50 years of his career. Matisse''s bold creations include some of the most widely recognized works of the 20th century. He was a leader of modernism in Paris, known for his revolutionary use of vivid colour, pattern and texture as a means of expression.

Outstanding examples of the colourful paintings included in the Cone Collection for which Matisse is well known are: Blue Nude (Memory of Biskra)(1907), Large Reclining Nude (formerly called The Pink Nude)(1935), The Yellow Dress(1929), Standing Odalisque Reflected in a Mirror (1923). The drawings in the exhibition show Matisse''s extraordinary talents as a draftsman and include portraits of the Cone sisters. The sculptures are examples of some of the finest Matisse sculptures anywhere in the world, including The Serf (bronze, 1900-03) of male model Bevilaqua, who also modeled for Rodin.

"It is impossible to think of the art of the 20th century without accounting for Henri Matisse''s great and bold influence," said AGO Director Matthew Teitelbaum. "Matisse was a radical thinker about the simplifications of colour and line and an artist of great expressive range. To see his work celebrated in this wonderful exhibition through the lens of two of the most adventurous collectors of early 20th-century America is a double pleasure. Collectors stress the personal, and Matisse was, above all else, an artist who addressed the intimacies of personal experience and pleasure."