Exhibition: Matisse – Saint Laurent, a dialogue of colors and lines

The exhibition visible at the Matisse Museum until September brings together Henri Matisse and Yves Saint Laurent in an unprecedented dialogue. Taking advantage of the closure of the Parisian museum for renovation, the two institutions present in Nice a collection of 160 works, archives and haute couture creations that reveal the profound influence of the painter on the designer, united by a taste for color, line and movement.

They never met but the opportunity of the closure of the Yves St Laurent museum in Paris for renovation allowed the teams of the two museums to work together. A significant part of the collection will travel: haute couture dresses, sketches, workshop notes, photographs, archives… Through the 160 works and haute couture creations on display, we can see that Yves Saint Laurent was first and foremost a creator of drawings and sketches before being a creator of dresses. The influence of Matisse’s work on his work was profound. They shared a taste for bold color combinations, line and movement in a painting or a costume.

When clothing becomes painting

Matisse was born in Cateau Cambrésis in the north, a textile region. “Textile was never a simple accessory”, as emphasized by Aymeric Jeudy, director of the Nice Museum and commissioner of the exhibition, and Serena Bucalo-Mussely, head of collections at the Yves St Laurent Museum in Paris.

Matisse’s wife, Amélie, was a milliner (creator of hats or head accessories). His daughter Marguerite knew couturier Paul Poiret. Settled in Nice in 1917, Henri Matisse collected fabrics, scarves, printed canvases, popular costumes such as the embroidered Romanian blouse that inspired Yves St Laurent for his autumn-winter 1981 collection. Ornamentation, dear to Henri Matisse, was an essential part of the construction in Yves St Laurent’s work. Several of Henri Matisse’s artwork titles still refer to the fabrics worn by his models: Miss Matisse in a plaid coat, the Blue Dress reflected in the mirror.

Clothing as pictorial material

In 1938, when he painted his assistant and model Lydia Delektoskaia in a red, blue and green dress. It is the stripes and persistent patterns of it that blend with the leaves of the plant next to her as well as the curves of the armchair behind her, which matter more than the expression of the face. It’s as if the dress became painting. Elsewhere, Henri Matisse tried to create stage costumes for the Russian Ballets that resonated with those of Yves St Laurent regarding the primacy of movement. Similarly, the spectacular dress with white jabot signed by Matisse “the large blue and mimosa dress” inspired a creation by St Laurent that gave body to the painting. Even Matisse’s famous cut-out gouaches would find an extension in the designer’s creations.

These are two creators passionate about Art and travels to Morocco and Algeria. They are nourished by literature, dance, cinema… The title of the exhibition called beauty, fashion, happiness is moreover borrowed from Charles Baudelaire. The journey unfolds over seven chapters in a scenography designed by the studio Matters agency. Not to be missed !

Roland Haugades