French artist Henri Matisse (1869-1954)—one of the 20th-century’s great masters. A key figure in Fauvism, a movement whose emphasis on pure, vivid color strongly influenced 20th-century art, Matisse thereafter devoted himself to experimenting with bright colors and shapes that appeal directly to the senses, and remained an art revolutionary until his death at 84. Unfading in brilliance, Matisse’s artworks continue to fascinate us and inspire generations of young artists.
This exhibition, the first large-scale Matisse retrospective in Japan in twenty years, will be held with the full cooperation of the Centre Pompidou, home to one of the world’s largest Matisse collections. Through major works from every phase of the artist’s career—not only paintings but sculptures, drawings, prints, cut-outs, and even materials related to his final masterpiece, the Chapel of the Rosary of Vence—it will trace the creative journey, filled with rich color and light, of a great master.