Minneapolis Institute of Art

Leaves

Henri Matisse

Date

1949

Medium

Pen and black ink on coated white wove paper

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

This example is one of a group of forty variations on leaves that Matisse drew in his own garden and that of his publisher friend, Tériade. Matisse frequently produced such series of variants drawn in pen and ink, as a way to seize the essential character of a motif. Because of its directness, Matisse came to recognize that line drawing expressed his emotions most purely. Matisse adapts his composition to the size and proportions of the supporting sheet, to realize a design of absolute clarity and elegance. The palpable effect of the white spaces interacting with the subject confirms Matisse’s claim that his line drawings were “generators of light”. France, Europe

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