82 Artists&Illustrators
HENRI MATISSE
The Snail, 1952-’53
Wheelchair-boundinlater
life,the Frenchmaster
foundanewwaytowork.
RACHAELFUNNELLlooks
athisuniquetechniqueof
“drawingwithscissors”
ART IN FOCUS
WHO WAS HENRI MATISSE?
Born on New Year’s Eve 1869, this French
artist is best remembered for figurative
paintings such as The Dance. In 1941,
however, he was diagnosed with cancer
and wheelchair-bound as a result.
Longing for une second vie – “a second
life” – in those later years, he embarked on a
new art medium: creating cut-paper collages
in a practice he called “drawing with
scissors”. “To cut to the quick in colour,”
he said, “reminds me of the direct cutting
of sculptors.”
WHAT IS THIS COLLAGE ABOUT?
The Snail (or L’Escargot) was completed a
year before Matisse’s death and the original
measures three metres square.
The name comes from the spiralling
composition – according to his daughter
Marguerite, her father had grown fascinated
with the concentric pattern of snail shells
and made many drawings of them.
Matisse gave his collage a second name,
La Composition Chromatique or “The
Chromatic Composition” – believed to be
a reference to the way he chose the hues.
HOW WAS IT MADE?
A large white piece of paper cut to Matisse’s
specified dimensions was hung on a wall in
the Hôtel Régina at Nice.
Using scissors, the artist cut pieces of
paper which had been coloured with gouache
paint and directed his studio assistants as
to where they should be placed. Once the
composition was finalised, the cut paper was
lightly fixed to the surface and sent to Paris
to be permanently pasted down. Prior to this,
a precise tracing was made to ensure that
the final pasted version perfectly matched
his original image.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
The Snail is a highlight of the collages
Matisse carved during the final decade of his
career. Known as The Cut-Outs, the series
indicated a significant departure from his
previous works. Initially dismissed as childish,
they became a precursor to the bold colours
of the 1960s and graphic art, and became
some of his most admired pieces.
WHAT DID MATISSE SAY?
“I first of all drew the snail from nature,
holding it. I became aware of an unrolling,
I found an image in my mind purified of the
shell, then I took the scissors.” (As quoted by
his assistant, Lydia Delectorskaya, in a letter
to the Tate dated 30 March 1976).
Matisse: Drawing with Scissors runs from
25 October to 15 March 2020 at the Lady Lever
Art Gallery, Wirral. http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk
HENRI MATISSE,
L’ESCARGOT (THE SNAIL)
, 1952-’53, LITHOGRAPHIC REPRODUCTION (1958), 46.7X57.7CM. © SUCCESSION H. MATISSE/ DACS 2019