Dreaming in Color: The Art of Henri Matisse

The Norton Simon Musuem presents Dreaming in Color: The Art of Henri Matisse,  an exhibition of twenty one paintings, prints, and paper cutouts by the French master Henri Matisse (1869-1954). Matisse was the most important figure painter of the twentieth century, and the greatest colorist of his age. He described his work as "the expression of a dream inspired by reality." Matisse thought of color as a living substance, and gave to pictoral color an unprecedented life of its own. This exhibition provides an opportunity to see major works by Matisse from 1918 to the 1950s. Included are such famous paintings as Nude on a Sofa  (1923), Odalisque with a Tambourine  (1926), as well as Ronsard  (1948). The last work in th exhibition, Chinese Fish  (1951), is a large study for one of Matisse's stained-glass windows, over six feet high, and made of painted paper cutouts. Chinese Fish  is on loan to the Musuem from the collection of Vicci Sperry.