• Symbolism and Allusion in Matisse’s Jazz

    Author(s):
    Rodney Swan (see profile)
    Date:
    2019
    Group(s):
    History of Art, Philosophy, War Studies
    Subject(s):
    Art, Artists' books, Jazz, Literature
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    Livre d'artiste, Matisse, Artist's books, War literature
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/23y5-hc71
    Abstract:
    Henri Matisse’s images in Jazz, created during the disruption of the German Occupation of France, were embedded with symbols of cultural resistance, while his text, which he composed after the defeat of the Germans, reflected the transition to a post-Liberation France. The wartime symbols and allusions camouflaged within these images are readily revealed when consideration is given to two carefully devised interpretative filters that Matisse created. The first, a circus theme embodied in its original title Cirque, and the second, the intricate captions that Matisse accorded to each image. Enhancing the visual quality of his handwritten text with his richly drawn arabesques, he created a new text-image dynamic which gave primacy to the image. The paper reveals a congruency between the text in Jazz, which he declared had no relationship to the image, and the essay he wrote at the same time, "How I made my books.” when he articulated a principle he adopted for his other books, the rapport between the image and the literary character of the text.
    Metadata:
    Published as:
    Journal article    
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    4 years ago
    License:
    Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
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