1931, Henri Matisse, La Danse inachevée (The Unfinished Dance) -- Musee d'Art Moderne de Paris
From the museum label:
In 1992, the Matisse family discovered a set of three monumental canvases abandoned by the artist almost sixty years earlier. This set of three paintings quickly became known as "The Unfinished Dance," and shows Matisse's initial experimentations for his great decorative work for the Barnes Foundation. In the right-hand panel, in particular, numerous charcoal marks are visible, representing different positions of the dancers sketched by the artist. Matisse explained that "to achieve something that lives, something that sings, I could only get there by trial and error."
Matisse very quickly stopped working on this version of The Dance. The "super-human" dimensions of the work led him to develop a more suitable technique for the constant reworking required by his composition. Instead of painting, then touching up, the vast surfaces, Matisse decided to use pieces of colored paper, which he cut up and then pinned directly onto the canvases of The Unfinished Dance. At this point, the latter became a mere support for his work, enabling him to adjust and move the paper cuttings until he achieved the final composition. Tiny pinholes can still be seen across the entire surface of the work, a reminder that for a time it was completely covered with paper cut-outs.
This version of The Dance is striking by its visual power and energy. A dynamic, impetuous tension runs through the broken round, dancers surging, stretching and leaping with force. Isolated but interdependent, their gestures recall the expressive energy of modern ballet.
1931, Henri Matisse, La Danse inachevée (The Unfinished Dance) -- Musee d'Art Moderne de Paris
From the museum label:
In 1992, the Matisse family discovered a set of three monumental canvases abandoned by the artist almost sixty years earlier. This set of three paintings quickly became known as "The Unfinished Dance," and shows Matisse's initial experimentations for his great decorative work for the Barnes Foundation. In the right-hand panel, in particular, numerous charcoal marks are visible, representing different positions of the dancers sketched by the artist. Matisse explained that "to achieve something that lives, something that sings, I could only get there by trial and error."
Matisse very quickly stopped working on this version of The Dance. The "super-human" dimensions of the work led him to develop a more suitable technique for the constant reworking required by his composition. Instead of painting, then touching up, the vast surfaces, Matisse decided to use pieces of colored paper, which he cut up and then pinned directly onto the canvases of The Unfinished Dance. At this point, the latter became a mere support for his work, enabling him to adjust and move the paper cuttings until he achieved the final composition. Tiny pinholes can still be seen across the entire surface of the work, a reminder that for a time it was completely covered with paper cut-outs.
This version of The Dance is striking by its visual power and energy. A dynamic, impetuous tension runs through the broken round, dancers surging, stretching and leaping with force. Isolated but interdependent, their gestures recall the expressive energy of modern ballet.