holi-holiday

Henri Matisse (1869–1954)

The Swimming Pool

Late summer 1953

Gouache on paper, cut and pasted, on painted paper

185.4 x 1643.3 cm

(c) 2014 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

From the MOMA Collection:

Commenting on The Swimming Pool, his largest cutout, Matisse said, "I have always adored the sea, and now that I can no longer go for a swim, I have surrounded myself with it." Indeed, this nearly fifty-four-foot-long frieze of blue bathers silhouetted against a white rectangular band was designed to adorn the walls of Matisse's dining room at the Hôtel Régina in Nice. At the time of its creation, the artist was restricted to his bed or to a wheelchair, and he conjured this lyrical depiction of the natural world for his personal enjoyment.

(Thank you Kitty Bons Bons)