• Imagine commissioning one of the greatest living artists to design a ceramic mural for your patio. Then imagine rejecting his first three designs. This is the story of three of our favourite images by Matisse.

  • The finest house in Los Angeles

    The finest house in Los Angeles

    The Brody House in Los Angeles is a triumph of Modern design. A perfect fusion of art and life, it was filled with fabulous artworks by Picasso, Giacometti, Moore and many others. Shortly after it was built, the owners Frances Lasker Brody and her husband Sidney, decided to commission a ceramic mural for an outdoor patio area. Matisse, aged 83 and in failing health, was energised by the idea and set to work excitedly in January 1953. Armed with scissors, paper and gouache, he was bursting with ideas. Unfortunately, he had not been provided with any specifications...
  • Matisse's First Idea: Masks
    Henri Matisse
    Decoration Masques,1958

    Matisse's First Idea: Masks

    Matisse didn't know what size the mural should be, but he wasn't about to be held back by this minor detail. For his first design he decided to go all out with no limitations. The resulting cut-out was nearly ten metres long. The knowledge that he was designing a tile mural for an outdoor space inspired him to flank his composition with classical columns. The repeating pattern of faces and vegetal shapes is a grand summation of the ideas that dominated his later work, and a lyrical celebration of life. The cut-out is now housed in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C..

    This stunning original lithograph was printed by the legendary Atelier Mourlot in 1958 and brilliantly captures the rhythmic beauty of Matisse's composition.

     

    Decoration Masques, 1958

  • Matisse's Second Idea: Fruit

    Henri Matisse 

    Decoration Fruits, 1958

    Matisse's Second Idea: Fruit

    Matisse was on a roll. He still had no written specifications or instructions from the Brodys, but leapt straight into a second design featuring another of his favourite motifs. As before, the composition is flanked by classical columns and features a replicating pattern of vegetal forms reminiscent of the fabrics that Matisse adored. He also left room for a door within the image (though the wall it was destined for didn't have one). The cut-out produced for this design is now held by the Musée Matisse in Nice. It is the largest cut-out still housed in France.

    This richly printed lithograph was produced at the most acclaimed workshop of the 20th century, and is from the only edition of prints based on the cut-outs produced with Matisse's involvement.

     

    Decoration Fruits, 1958

  • Matisse's Third Idea: Apollo
    Henri Matisse
    Apollon, 1958

    Matisse's Third Idea: Apollo

    Still fizzing with ideas, Matisse proceeded to create a third design. The Greek god Apollo was associated with the Sun, the arts, healing and prophecy, all of which can be said to form key narratives within Matisse's revolutionary series of cut-outs. In its lively blaze of sun-drenched plant forms framed by symmetrical classical columns, Apollon is a perfect distillation of this philosophy. The cut-out is now held by the Moderna Museet in Stockholm.

    Matisse would closely supervise the transposing of his design to ceramic tiles for a mural...but not for the Brodys. They had already rejected Apollon, along with Décoration Masques and Décoration Fruits. What happened?

     

    Apollon, 1958

  • In May 1953, the Brodys travelled to Nice to visit Matisse's studio. When presented with the maquettes, Mrs Brody was bitterly disappointed. The classical designs were too symmetrical for what she had in mind; she wanted something more freeform and organic. Frances Lasker Brody was not a person to mince words, nor hold back from expressing her honest opinion, and she promptly asked Matisse to try again.

    He obliged. Setting aside the influence of classical architecture and mythology, he produced La Gerbe, a joyous arrangement of vegetal forms erupting into pure white space. The mural was completed on schedule, and shipped to Los Angeles shortly after Matisse's death in November 1954. Brody would come to describe it as "the heart of our home". It's hard to disagree.
  • Matisse's three rejected designs also went on to be recognised as some of his greatest late works. Housed in major museums, they bring joy to millions and bear testament to his singular artistic vision. When the time came to publish a major survey of his cut-outs in 1958, they were among the forty images chosen for interpretation as lithographs. 

    Matisse was proud of his cut-outs, and these lavishly made prints are an affordable (and beautiful) way to own a piece of art history for yourself. Click HERE to learn more about Henri Matisse, or browse our full selection of original Matisse prints below. 

     

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