Photos by MARY HOLSCHER "Henri Matisse: Works on Paper
from the Grunwald Center Collection" is currently showing at the
UCLA Hammer Museum.
By Mary Williams
Daily Bruin Staff
The name Henri Matisse often conjures images of the vibrant
colors used in the artist’s paintings and paper cutouts.
The common association between Matisse and his brightly colored
works makes entering “Henri Matisse: Works on Paper from the
Grunwald Center Collection,” at the UCLA Hammer Museum, a
little disconcerting. Instead of vivid paintings and paper cutouts,
viewers see what is, at first glance, a disappointing collection
formed mostly of black and white lithographs, dry point drawings
and woodcuts.
Although the lithographs do provide insight into Matisse’s
lesser-known works, they do not represent the legacy that he has
left behind well.
Most of the lithographs are studies of the female form, in
varying degrees of detail.
Works like “Nu Assis, bras gauche sur la tête (Seated
Nude, Left Arm on Head)” show a more basic representation of
a woman. Inexactly drawn, the nude poses in front of a flowered
background.
 Photos by MARY HOLSCHER The Matisse exhibit at Hammer
Museum emphasizes the lithographs and black and white drawings of
Henri Matisse, rather than his more colorful works. Matisse’s
complex backgrounds are one of the few traits shared with his
famous works that are found in this collection. Attention to
patterns, which often outweighs the attention to people, is a
characteristic some of the lithographs share with many of his
paintings.
In this way, some works in the exhibit mirror his style in other
compositions, although there are other drawings that seem as though
they could have easily been created by someone else.
For example, nothing about “Odalisque au collier
(Odalisque with Necklace)” and “Odalisque au magnolia
(Odalisque with Magnolia)” resemble more famous examples of
Matisse’s work, other than the signature.
As precise, fully-shaded, black and white drawings of women
lying in front of non-pattered backgrounds, these lithographs are a
far cry from what viewers may expect of the artist.
Another oddity of this exhibit is its almost exclusive
concentration on one subject: female nudes. In the larger scope of
Matisse’s work, he certainly didn’t restrict himself to
this topic, and to see these drawings quickly becomes tedious.
As one of the few “typical” Matisse works in the
exhibit, the centerpiece, a cutout measuring nine by 11 feet titled
“Le Gerbe (The Sheaf)” is a rare glimpse into the world
of color and abstract form that is usually associated with Matisse.
It is a welcome relief, and makes viewers long for more works like
it.
While this particular cutout is not a famous one, it is the only
one that can be seen from the entrance to the room that contains
the exhibit, which makes its presence all the more notable and
appreciated.
Lying in two glass cases on either side of the room are a few
smaller cutouts from the “Jazz” collection, although
“Icarus,” the most famous of that series, is
absent.
“Le Cirque” and “Le Nageusse dans
l’aquarium (The Swimmer in the Aquarium),” among the
few other “Jazz” samples, show what an exhibit of
“Works on Paper” should have been: a collection
dominated by art in the paper cutout style that Matisse made so
famous.
The few examples of the cutouts that are included do not satisfy
a viewer’s longing, but are enough to show what is missing
from the exhibit. Namely, color and abstract forms.
Two other glass cases contain pages from illustrated books that
Matisse published. “Florilège des Amours de Ronsard
(Anthology of Loves of Ronsard)” and “Poèmes de
Charles d’Orleans” boasted Matisse lithographs that
were drawn especially for the publications. The drawings resemble
colorful doodles more than pictures of any object in particular,
but they compliment the books of poetry well.
The bottom line is that this collection, however closely it
allows the viewer to examine the artist’s lithographs, is too
narrow in scope and does not represent what the artist proved
himself capable of in his paintings and a wider selection of paper
cutouts.
ART: “Henri Matisse: Works on Paper from
the Grunwald Center Collection” will be at the UCLA Hammer
Museum until July 29. Admission is free for UCLA students and $4.50
for general admission. For more information go to www.hammer.ucla.edu.