Henri Matisse by Alastair Sooke - an essential guide to one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.

One January morning in 1941, just two weeks after his seventieth birthday, French artist Henri Matisse found himself in a hospital, preparing to die. Diagnosed with cancer, the distinguished painter and rival of Picasso seemed to be facing his end. Something unexpected happened. After a salvation that left him too weak to paint, and often too weak even to get out of bed, Matisse invented a revolutionary and effortless new way of creating art. The results rank among his greatest works.

In an astonishing burst of creativity, he began composing enchanting designs with striking dancers and captivating acrobats, sensual swimmers, and mythical creatures falling from the skies. His joyous and unprecedented new works were as spontaneous as jazz music and as wonderful as crystalline lagoons. The medium? Colored paper and scissors.

This book, by art critic and presenter Alastair Sooke, focuses on the remarkable last decade of Matisse, which he called his "second life," after his return from the grave. Both a biography and a guide to Matisse’s “cut-outs,” it tells the story of the farewell steps of one of the most important and beloved artists of the 20th century. Published in time for a major retrospective at the Tate Modern.

Sooke is an extremely engaging character. He does not possess the dangerous self-regard that often afflicts experts and art critics. Instead, he approaches his subjects with an inquisitive, open, exploratory attitude.

Alastair Sooke is the art critic of the Daily Telegraph. He has written and presented television and radio documentaries for the BBC, including Modern Masters, The World's Most Expensive Paintings, Treasures of Ancient Rome, and most recently, Treasures of Ancient Egypt. He is a regular reporter on The Culture Show on BBC Two. He is the author of Roy Lichtenstein: How Modern Art was Saved by Donald Duck.

Pages: 128, Dimensions: 11.1x11.1cm