The painter and sculptor Henri Matisse's extraordinary importance and influence in the history of modern art were no less decisive than those of his great rival, Pablo Picasso. Matisse's stylistic liberation went a step further in pursuit of his personal goal: the perfect synthesis of line and colour. Drawing on the classical aspects of the great French painting tradition, he sought revolutionary new approaches.
 
For readers wishing to learn more about this guiding figure of modern art and follow the adventurous course of his creative career, this publication offers a comprehensive and informative resource. Richly illustrated, its authoritative commentary traces his quest for balance, purity and serenity: from the chromatic brilliance of his Fauvist period through his travels, his engagement with the East, geometric synthesis and odalisques, to the final triumph of his gouache cut-outs. These culminated in the illustrations for Jazz and enabled him to achieve his goal of sculpting in paint as a sculptor works in stone.
 
Matisse's canvases are notoriously difficult to reproduce in print. With this in mind, each work presented here was carefully compared with its original, in close collaboration with the artist's grandson, Claude Duthuit. This poet of colour deserves no less.