Henri Matisse《Intérieur aux barres de soleil》 1942年
Musée départemental Matisse, Le Cateau-cambrésis

Matisse et Bonnard : Lumiere de la Mediterranee

29 March - 18 May 2008

Introducing two master of French painting in the 20th century, Henri Matisse(1869-1954) and Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947). From around the turn of the century, the two painters revolutionized the tradition of Western painting: Matisse, by actively participating in the Fauvist movement and Bonnard, that of the Nabis. Starting from such ground breaking effort, they developed later paintings of original styles proper to themselves. The friendship between the two continued throughout their career sharing the love and confidence for paintings and respecting the existence of one another. The two spent the latter half of their lives under the luminous sky of southern France, near the Mediterranean coast, completely immersed in their creation. What had been their aim and what had they achieved through their extraordinary life? This exhibition poses such questions, comparing the works of the two artists and shedding light on their unknown friendship.

With the cooperation of national and international collectors and museums, some 120 works of oil paintings, watercolors, drawings and prints, together with documentary materials, are exhibited, arranged in seven chapters as shown below.

Chapter 1: Bonnard 1867-1908 “Nabi japonard”: art of privacy and decoration
Chapter 2: Matisse 1869-1929 From Fauvist experiment to the maturity of painting
Chapter 3: Bonnard 1909-1924 Drawn by the Mediterranean light
Chapter 4: Matisse 1930-1942 Themes and Variations. New pursuit
Chapter 5: Bonnard 1925-1947 Adventures of optical nerves
Chapter 6: Matisse 1943-1954 Final blooming
Chapter 7: Matisse and Bonnard “Vive la peinture!”

Closed

Monday (except for 21 July), 22 July

Museum hours

9:30-17:00(the last admission at 16:30)

Admissions

Adults 1,200 yen (1100 yen)
Under 20 and Students 1050 yen (950 yen)
65 and over 600 yen

• 20 or more persons' group are reduction charge in brackets.
• Students under high school age are no charge. Disabled visitors are also no charge.