French artist's work brings carnival-like atmosphere to Chester Beatty Library, writes ROSITA BOLAND
A PAIR of scissors is not something usually associated with a library, particularly one with as many priceless treasures as the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin. But from today, some of Henri Matisse’s most famous artworks, created with scissors and paper, go on temporary display there.
The Art Books of Henri Matisseis the title of the exhibition, which showcases pages from four different books by the French artist, who died in 1954. By far the best-known of these is Jazz, the 22-page portfolio book of cut-outs and stencils that Matisse made in 1947. Loosely based on the themes of circus and theatre, the exhibition displays 13 pages from the book. The electric blues, dandelion yellows, and shocking-pink magentas pop out of the frames like clowns, creating a glorious carnival-like atmosphere in the library's upper gallery.
The pages currently on display in Dublin come from the Bank of America Merrill Lynch art collection. The bank regularly lends artworks from its extensive collection. This is the first time these books have been seen in public in Europe.
So what is the link between Henri Matisse and a library associated primarily with religious and spiritual iconography? Paper. Chester Beatty collected illuminated manuscripts, scrolls, papyrus, Bibles, Korans, religious paintings, and many other paper-based artefacts.
The Matisse exhibition also reflects a personal link with Beatty. There are several pages on display from the 1950 book Poèmes de Charles d’Orléans, many of which are decorated with fleur-de-lys. Also on show is Beatty’s own copy of this book, open at the flyleaf. Written there are the words, “En hommage á Monsieur Chester Beatty”, signed by Matisse and dated 1951. They both had homes in Nice, where Matisse is buried.
Among the images in Jazzthat will be most familiar to the visiting public are that of Icarus, the silhouette of a falling figure surrounded by spiky yellow stars on a blue background. Others are Sword Swallower, High Wire Act, Cowboyand Swimmer in the Tank. The method of making cut-outs and paper collages is one Matisse turned to towards the end of his life, creating a new artform in the process, one now known as "drawing with scissors".
Only 250 editions of Jazzwere printed, and curator Jill Unkel had the task of choosing which 13 of the 22 pages to bring to Dublin. "I printed out all the images, and laid them on the floor of my office," she explains. "I looked at them for about a week, and made my choice based on variety, colour, and the overall view."
Many of the images in Jazzalso contain stylised fronds of seaweed. Unkel points out Swimmer in the Tank, and explains that Matisse was inspired by what he saw from the glass-bottomed boats of Tahiti.
There are pages from three other books also on display; Poèmes de Charles d'Orléans, Poésies de Stéphane Mallarmé, and Pasiphaé, Chant de Minos. They were chosen to reflect the range of Matisse's work, which, in addition to the cut-outs of Jazz, includes etchings, lithographs and lino-cuts.
They may be famous images, but you won’t be seeing them reproduced in full in any newspaper, including this one. Strict copyright rules from the Matisse estate mean that only part of the image may be printed or broadcast. But you can go along to the Chester Beatty from now until September for a look at the iconic images.
The Art Books of Henri Matisseis on exhibition at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin until September 25th. Admission free. Visit: cbl.ie