Matisse 1917-1941

The exhibition focused on the work of Matisse between 1917 and 1941. These two important dates marked the start and finish of the central period within his career during which time Matisse developed his most individual and distinctive style but which had been the subject of less attention than the early and late phases of his activity. Marked by the shadow of World War I and the menace of the impending conflict, this period was of crucial importance for the dissemination and consolidation of modern art, a process in which Matisse undoubtedly played a central role. This was the context in which the exhibition will analyse the artist’s work with the intention of showing how Matisse expanded the scope of his pictorial investigations at this period, focusing on the relationship between line, colour, volume and space and opting for an aesthetic that aspired to the timeless without abandoning its commitment to modernity.