Henri Matisse | Florilège des Amours de Ronsard

The publication was Matisse’s idea; he approached the publisher Albert Skira with the concept of the illustrated anthology in 1941. Skira was a bookseller-turned-publisher who also collaborated with artists such as Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí.  Skira and Matisse worked closely together on Florilège for seven years before the work was finally published in 1948. The Second World War, the Nazi occupation of Paris and Matisse’s ill health account for some of the delays with the project, however, the principal reason that the publication took seven years to complete was Matisse’s stubborn insistence on the project’s total perfection. Every detail of the publication was scrutinised by Matisse: from each subtle lithographic mark; to the exact tone of the ink; the paper choice which had to be changed at a last moment when it began yellowing; and to the lettering of the typography which also had to be changed when their original choice - a very rare, old Caslon typeface - had to be recast before they could complete the printing. Matisse refused to go to print with the publication of Florilège until he was entirely satisfied with every aspect of this special work.

In Florilège, we can see Matisse’s unparalleled command of the modern line – a confident mark that is simple yet supple, understated and yet full of emotion. Plate 8, the opening image of Florilège, is a portrait of Ronsard who is portrayed with a Roman nose and elongated, Mannerist neck as well as a densely curled beard, moustache and braided laurel crown, a typical and symbolic accessory of a bard; a flattering homage to the author of the poetry that Matisse so admired.

Plate 170 shows us a very different type of portrait and more typical of the collection as a whole: suggestive, sensual, feminine and youthful. Matisse is able, throughout Florilège, to depict in simple lines deep wells of character within each of his figures. In his images of couples embracing (such as Plate 117 or Plate 64), instead of showing the character of an individual, Matisse exhibits the characteristics and movements of a relationship in a single beautiful moment.

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