Henri Matisse made thirteen sketches as preparation for his wondrous painting The Dream in September, 1940. They are remarkable in and of themselves, and as a record of the evolution that led, ultimately, to the simple perfect lines of the Dream. Of his process he said:
I don’t know whether I believe in God or not. I think, really, I’m some sort of Buddhist. But the essential thing is to put oneself in a frame of mind which is close to that of prayer.
So we’re viewing each one of these lovely sketches as a sort of prayer:
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These from the man who said:
It has bothered me all my life that I do not paint like everybody else.
Creativity takes courage.
The paintings were some of the gems shown the Metropolitan Museum’s exhibition of Matisse, In Search of True Painting in 2012. We found the images at Jerry Salz’ illuminating commentary in New York Magazine, The Met’s Matisse Exhibit Is Intoxicating, Possibly Dangerous.
