Original creation
Diagnosed with abdominal cancer in 1941, Matisse underwent surgery that left him chair- and bedbound. Limited in mobility, he could no longer paint or sculpt. Instead, he cut forms from colored paper that he arranged as collages, and decoupage which became known as the “cut-outs”. That same year, at the age of 74, Matisse began ''Jazz''. His assistants helped prepare the collages for printing, using a stencil process known as ''pochoir'' in French. He worked on the series for two years, utilizing this new method that linked drawing and color—two important elements in Matisse's work. The designs were initially intended as covers for ''Verve (French magazine), Verve'', a French art magazine published by Tériade. In 1947, Tériade issued the compositions in an artist's portfolio. The book included 20 color prints, each about , as well as Matisse's handwritten notes expressing his thoughts throughout the process. Tériade gave it the title ''Jazz'', which Matisse liked because it suggested a connection between art and Jazz improvisation, musical improvisation. Despite the low number of books printed, ''Jazz'' was well received. The circus, the title originally suggested for the book, provided inspiration for the majority of the motifs concerning performing artists and Balancing Acts, balancing acts. “These images, with their lively and violent tones, derive from crystallizations of memories of circuses, folktales, and voyages,” Matisse explains in the accompanying text. The figure of the circus artist, usually depicted alone, is often seen as a metaphor for the artist himself. The first prints illustrating the circus do not seem to have an immediate connection to the succeeding works. However, these compositions are viewed as metaphors of life. The overall themes in ''Jazz'' derive from biographical elements, such as Matisse's recollection of his travels to Tahiti in the three "Lagoon" sheets (XVII–XIX), as well as broader aspects including love (V, VI), death (X), and fate (XVI).List of prints
The titles of the individual sheets, together with supplementary explanations by his assistant Lydia Delectorskaya, in English translation, are:See also
* Composition for "Jazz", ''Composition for "Jazz"'' (Albert Gleizes)References and sources
;References ;Sources *''Jazz'' by Henri Matisse, introduction by Riva Castleman, George Braziller 1983 *''Jazz'' by Henri Matisse, introduction by Dominique Szymusiak, Editions Anthese 200External links