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Henri Matisse | La Musique (1910, oil on canvas) |
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Matisse Speaks
I loosen with my hands all women's hair Day wears the colour that my hands give it A sigh breathed in my room sets sails swelling And my gaze at tomorrow is an enduring dream Every flower in its nakedness is like those captives Whose sheer beauty makes one's fingers tremble I wait I see I wonder and the drifting sky Is clear before me like a garment shed I explain with no words the circling steps I explain the bare footprint that the wind dissolves I explain with no mystery a moment of this world I explain the sun on an imagined shoulder I explain a black pattern against the open window I explain the birds the trees the seasons I explain the mute happiness of green plants I explain the dwelt-in silence of houses I explain endlessly shadow and transparency I explain the touch of women and their brightness I explain a firnament of objects through their differences I explain the relation between the things that are here I explain the fragrence of transitory forms I explain what makes the white paper sings I explain what makes a leaf light And how branches are slower-moving arms I render rightful tribute to the light Steadfast amidst the miseries of our time I paint the hope of our eyes so that Henri Matisse May tell the future what man expects of it. Louis Aragon (1947) |
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About the Artist
Olga's Gallery - Henri Matisse Cross-References Henri Matisse had many admirers, including Andre Breton, Picasso and Louis Aragon. Aragon's two-volume, "Matisse: A Novel" covers almost 30 years of the writer's work on the artist. Matisse also provided illustrations for a deluxe volume of James Joyce's "Ulysses."
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