For Henri Matisse, the object of drawing was not to display technical dexterity, but "to give simplicity and spontaneity to the expression, which should speak without clumsiness, directly to the mind of the spectator." His successful realization of that goal can be richly appreciated in the Baltimore Museum of Art's new exhibit "Matisse as Printmaker."
The show focuses on a relatively unexplored side of the artist's legacy - from his first, quite traditional self-portraits to examples of Matisse's bold last works in the print genre, when just a few, thick black lines sufficed. Almost everything here (the exhibit spans five decades) is in black and white, yet reveals a vibrancy to rival Matisse's more famous paintings, with their striking colors.
More than 150 prints are on display, many of them from the BMA's own collection of 400-plus; others are from a touring exhibition put together by the American Federation of Arts and the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation. Like the BMA's major exhibit of the artist's sculpture, this project underlines the museum's determination, as director Doreen Bolger says, "to be a leading Matisse center."
That the exhibit includes a room devoted to "Prints in Context," offering viewers an opportunity to see direct relationships between the artist's prints, paintings and sculpture, is one example of how the BMA is, indeed, filling the role of a center for Matisse studies.
In 2007, the Matisse Foundation announced a gift to the BMA of 77 prints (now increased to 84). At the time, Alessandra Carnielli, the foundation's executive director, said that the donation would mean that the BMA "will house the largest collection of Matisse's graphic art in the United States."
Several of these donated works are receiving their first public display in this show. For that matter, museum-goers are in for a lot of fresh experiences.
"I would say that people have not seen three-quarters of [them] before," says Jay Fisher, the BMA's deputy director for curatorial activities. "And all are in pretty good shape. Many of these prints have never seen the light of day; they've always been kept in drawers. It will take people visiting this exhibit a few minutes to adjust to the lower light levels needed to keep the prints safe."
Even in that subdued lighting, the art shines.
