Matisse Jazz, 1947 Skateboard

$220.00 at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

More by Henri Matisse across every museum store.

In 1942, Henri Matisse was asked to create a book of colored paper cut-outs. He decided to use his then-preferred technique of cut-outs, filling the pages with carefully crafted collages and clashing colors on gouache-painted paper. His initial inspiration was the circus and its iconography of lonely acrobats, folklore and distant travels. Later, the publisher suggested “Jazz” as a title, which led the artist to visually explore the link between art and musical improvisation. The solo edition depicts an…