Details
The image
A single motif placed off-centre on a pale ground, cut rather than drawn, with lettering set small and formal beneath it. The shape is large enough to be read from across a room and simple enough that the eye keeps returning to its edge.
Where it comes from
Retrospective posters of the post-war decades brought the work of modern painters to people who would never stand in front of the canvas and they had to do it without the texture that makes a painting a painting. The answer was usually a single strong motif, printed flat, with the information kept severe. Matisse’s cut-outs suited that treatment better than almost anything else: the edge is the drawing.
On the wall
It brings colour into a room without adding detail, so it suits a living room, a study or a hallway with pale walls. Because the composition is open, it holds a large wall and still feels calm. In a group it should be the element that introduces colour.
In company
Hung beside another piece from the Matisse collection, it reads as part of a series rather than a single picture.Avoid hanging it beside tightly drawn work, the contrast makes the drawing look fussy.
