AN ESSAY ON MATISSE (TV)
Summary
This documentary explores the life of Henri Matisse, who
is called "one of the two greatest painters of the
twentieth century" by writer and narrator Perry Wolff.
The film opens with modern-day footage in which works
by Matisse works sell for millions of dollars at
high-profile auction houses. Next, a clip of an
interview with Matisse from 1940 is run, intercut with
footage of some of his more famous paintings. Wolff
comments that the 1905 picture "Woman with a Hat"
earned Matisse the nickname "king of the beasts" for his
wild use of color. Matisse, who Wolff says is credited
by many people with opening the door for abstract
expressionism, allegedly inspired a popular Parisian
graffito that translated as "Matisse is like Dropping
Acid." The program then begins to jump around and
explore specific quirks of the artist's career. In one
segment, Wolff probes the fact that Matisse never used
the color black in his paintings until World War I.
Matisse's unique habit of creating a companion sculpture
to each of his paintings is examined, as well as his
relationship with fellow artist Paul Gauguin. Late in
his life, viewers learn, Matisse followed Gauguin to
Tahiti, where Matisse lived briefly before concluding
that in order to paint he needed anxiety -- a scarce
commodity on the tropical island. Late in life, Matisse
became an architect and lent his talents to the French
government in Paris. The documentary ends with some
reflections on Matisse's other non-painting bursts of
creativity, including writing and designing the
best-selling book "Jazz."
The acquisition and cataloging of this program were
made possible by Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro, 2002.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: November 30, 1996
- RUNNING TIME: 0:57:07
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:70451
- GENRE: Arts Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Art, Modern; Art - Analysis, appreciation; Painting; Sculpture
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV, 1997
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Daniel Polin … Executive Producer
- Kenneth Mandel … Executive Producer
- Perry Wolff … Producer, Director, Writer
- Daniel A. Miller … Associate Producer
- Severine Bourlet … Associate Producer
- Perry Wolff … Narrator
- Paul Gauguin
- Henri Matisse