MATISSE THE MASTER by HILARY SPURLING

In this second volume on the Life and Works of Matisse , Spurling covers the years after 1908 covering the First World War  , the bizarre relationship with the owner and commissioner of many of his works Barnes , the spin partnership between Gertrude Stein and Picasso which sought to undermine Matisse at the expense of their legacy as well as the illness that prevented Matisse from painting for many years , instead giving him the a second talent with Art with Paper cut-outs.

 Mr.Barnes was an eccentric who only allowed a few people per annum to see the collection , and never critics or photographers which meant those works of Matisse where lost to the public attention for several decades , recently the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia has opened the Collection to the Public , containing the largest collection of Renoir , Matisse and Picasso works under one roof.

On page 219 we find Matisse relating his Artistic essence " you must create , between yourselves and your object , a stronger and stronger bond...always remembering this truth , that the design is not to be found in the model but in ourselves.This sort of operation cannot be forced , because it requires on our part ( as well as intelligence) something that comes from the depths of our soul : emotion".

The video below is a short documentary which examines Matisse birthplace , inspirations and legacy to modern thinking.