In autumn 2024, the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen/Basel will hold the first Henri Matisse retrospective in Switzerland and the German-speaking world in almost 20 years. Featuring around 80 works from major European and American museums and private collections, the exhibition will highlight the development and diversity of the artist’s groundbreaking oeuvre. It will take as its starting point Charles Baudelaire’s poem «Invitation to the Voyage» (1857). Many motifs and key themes of Matisse’s work echo those found in Baudelaire’s poem. The latest in a long line of unparalleled exhibitions such as «Paul Gauguin» (2015), «Monet» (2017) and «The Young Picasso – Blue and Rose Periods» (2019), «Matisse» will be on view at the Fondation Beyeler from 22 September 2024 to 26 January 2025.
Henri Matisse (1869–1954) ranks among the most famous exponents of modern art. His ground-breaking work has profoundly influenced generations of artists, from his contemporaries up to the present day. In freeing colour from the motif and simplifying forms, he redefined painting and imbued art with a hitherto unknown lightness. Matisse was also an innovator in the realm of sculpture, and in his late cut-outs he devised a distinctive interplay of painting, drawing and sculpture.
The exhibition takes as its starting point Charles Baudelaire’s poem Invitation to the Voyage (1857), which Matisse repeatedly referred to. Its poetic leitmotifs of luxury, peace and pleasure («luxe, calme et volupté») are guiding principles of Matisse’s work and capture the very essence of his artistic output. Following Baudelaire’s poem, the exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler is thus conceived as a journey through Matisse’s work and life, in which travel played an important part.
The exhibition will span the full range of the artist’s career. Beginning with the early works created around 1900, it will move on to the revolutionary paintings of Fauvism and the experimental works of the 1910s, the sensual paintings of the Nice period and the 1930s, before culminating in the legendary cut-outs of the 1940s and 1950s. The wealth of significant paintings, sculptures and paper cut-outs on display will hold up to view the development and the range of Matisse’s unique body of work.
Curated by Raphaël Bouvier, the exhibition will bring together iconic as well as seldom displayed works. Key paintings will include The Dinner Table (La Desserte), 1897; Luxury, Peace and Pleasure (Luxe, calme et volupté), 1904; The Open Window, Collioure (La fenêtre ouverte, Collioure), 1905; Luxury I (Le Luxe I), 1907; Large Reclining Nude (Grand nu couché [Nu rose]), 1935; The Dream (Le Rêve), 1935 and Blue Nude I (Nu bleu I), 1952.
Exhibition poster
Galerie Beyeler epoch
In 1952, when Ernst Beyeler renamed the print and antiquarian bookshop that he had been running for several years the “Galerie Beyeler”, he laid the foundations for an unparalleled career as an art dealer and collector. Bearing witness to this epoch – and not unmarked, in some cases, by the passage of time – are various original exhibition posters, of which a small number are still available.
Greeting card
Henri Matisse
The more frequently we communicate digitally, the greater the pleasure of receiving a handwritten card. This is certainly true of the high-quality cards featuring selected works from the collection of the Fondation Beyeler. Representing a wealth of different styles and movements, from abstract expressionism and classic modernism to Pop art, they offer a suitable artistic motif for every recipient.
Art Print
Henri Matisse
Each work of art is an original which is part of what makes it so special. The disadvantage, however, is that the work cannot be in several places at once. As a way of allowing us to look at paintings outside as well as inside the museum, the Fondation Beyeler creates high-quality fine art prints of selected works digital printed on high-quality papers that are resistant to ageing.
The exhibition is generously supported by:
If you are interested in the Fondation Beyeler and its various exhibitions and events, we would be happy to keep you informed via newsletters and social media.
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