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About the Exhibition
Matisse Picasso is the first exhibition
dedicated to the lifelong dialogue between two of the most important
artists of the twentieth century. Struck by each other's genius
since they met in 1906, each recognized the other to be his only
true rival and measure of his success. Matisse Picasso tells
the compelling story of two artists who, by looking at and learning
from one another for nearly half a century, were driven to ever
higher levels of accomplishment, and despite their personal differences,
were closer in spirit than any other two artists of that time.
Years in the making, this exhibition is
the result of a unique collaboration between The Museum of Modern
Art, New York; Tate, London; Musée Picasso and Musée National
d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris. It brings together
masterpieces from major international public and private collections
that rarely travel. These works have never been seen together and
probably never will be again. Extraordinary in its scope and ambition,
Matisse Picasso not only confirms the artists' status as
giants of their time but also offers previously unexplored insights
into the complex personal and artistic relationship that defined
the standards for painting in the twentieth century.
This exhibition is a collaboration
between The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate Modern, London;
and the Réunion des Musées Nationaux/Musée Picasso, Musée
National d'Art Moderne/Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris. It was
organized by John Elderfield, Chief Curator, Department of Painting
and Sculpture,
The Museum of Modern
Art, New York; Kirk Varnedoe, Professor of the History of Art,
School of Historical Studies, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton;
John Golding, Painter and Art Historian, London; Elizabeth Cowling,
Senior Lecturer, Department of Fine Art, University of Edinburgh;
Anne Baldassari, Curator, Musée Picasso, Paris; Isabelle Monod-Fontaine,
Deputy Director, Musée Nationale d'Art Moderne, Paris.
The exhibition and its accompanying publication
and education programs are sponsored by Merrill Lynch.
A major grant is also provided by The Starr
Foundation.
An indemnity for the exhibition has been
granted by the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Additional funding is provided by Monique
M. Schoen Warshaw.
Pictured above (left):
Pablo Picasso. Self-Portrait
with Palette. 1906. Oil on canvas. 36 1/4 x 28 3/4" (92
x 73 cm). Philadelphia Museum of Art: The A.E. Gallatin Collection,
1950. © 2003 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society
(ARS), New York
Pictured above (right):
Henri Matisse. Self-Portrait.
1906. Oil on canvas. 21 5/8 x 18 1/8” (55 x 46 cm). Statens
Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen. Johannes Rump Collection. © 2003
Succession H. Matisse/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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