Matisse, 1941-1954

Exhibition at the Grand Palais, Paris, 24 March – 26 July 2026

At nearly 80 years of age, Henri Matisse (1869–1954) reinvented himself through cut-out gouache, a medium he elevated to an autonomous visual language—free and capable of achieving universality through its simplicity. Despite his physical limitations following an operation, it was during this period that he produced his greatest masterpieces: the Chapel of Vence, his large cut-out gouaches and Jazz. Far from being supplanted by the cut-outs, painting remained at the heart of his artistic approach: on the contrary, it unfolded with ever greater space, intensity and colour.

This catalogue of the exhibition dedicated to Matisse’s final creative period, from 1941 until his death in 1954, captures the vital fluidity of this period. Through an iconographic dialogue, it brings together reproductions of works, mostly full-page, accompanied by little-known photographs of the works in the studio, taken by leading figures in the medium: Adant, Capa, Carone, Cartier-Bresson, Sima... The book is accompanied by texts from specialists, which help readers understand the works of this final decade and fully grasp the symbiosis between Matisse’s art and his life.