Editing Henri Matisse (section)

==Final years==
===Cut-outs===
{{See also|Jazz (Henri Matisse)}}
[[File:Utställningsaffisch Henri Matisse "Papiers decoupés", 1953 - SLM27767.tif|thumb|Poster for a Matisse exhibition in Paris 1953, showing a cut-out signed 1952.]]
Diagnosed with abdominal cancer in 1941, Matisse underwent surgery that left him reliant on a wheelchair and often bed bound. Painting and sculpture became physical challenges, so with the help of his assistants, he began creating cut paper collages, or [[decoupage]]. He cut sheets of paper, pre-painted with [[gouache]] by his assistants, into shapes of varying colours and sizes, and arranged them to form lively compositions. The result was a distinct and dimensional complexity—an art form that was not quite painting, but not quite sculpture.<ref>{{Citation | last =Cotter | first =Holland| title =Wisps From an Old Man's Dreams 'Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs,' a Victory Lap at MoMA
 | newspaper =New York Times| date =9 October 2014
| url =https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/10/arts/design/henri-matisse-the-cut-outs-a-victory-lap-at-moma.html| access-date =17 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="The Cut-outs">{{Citation| last =MoMA | title =Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs| year = 2014| url =http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/1469| access-date =19 February 2015}}</ref> His initial pieces were modest in size, but he eventually developed murals and room-sized works. He referred to his final years as his second life, because while his mobility was limited, he could wander through gardens in the form of his cut-outs.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Carelli|first=Francesco|date=2014|title='Painting with scissors': Matisse and creativity in illness|journal=London Journal of Primary Care|volume=6|issue=4|page=93|doi=10.1080/17571472.2014.11493424|issn=1757-1472|pmc=4238723|pmid=25949724}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=5 June 2017|title=5 Word-Famous Artists That Had Disabilities: Michelangelo, Goya, Klee...|url=https://www.passionatepeople.invacare.eu.com/5-world-famous-artists-disabilities/|access-date=20 November 2021|website=Passionate People by Invacare|language=en-US}}</ref>

Although the paper cut-out was Matisse's major medium in the final decade of his life, his first recorded use of the technique was in 1919 during the design of decor for the ''[[Le chant du rossignol]]'', an opera composed by [[Igor Stravinsky]].<ref name="The Cut-outs" /> [[Albert C. Barnes]] arranged for cardboard templates to be made of the unusual dimensions of the walls onto which Matisse, in his studio in Nice, fixed the composition of painted paper shapes. Another group of cut-outs were made between 1937 and 1938, while Matisse was working on the stage sets and costumes for [[Sergei Diaghilev]]'s [[Ballets Russes]]. However, it was only after his operation that, bedridden, Matisse began to develop the cut-out technique as its own form, rather than its prior utilitarian origin.<ref name="Elderfield 1978 8">{{cite book | last =Elderfield | first =John | title =The Cut-Outs of Henri Matisse | publisher =George Braziller | date =1978 | location =New York | pages =[https://archive.org/details/cutoutsofhenrima0000mati/page/8 8] | isbn =0-8076-0886-6 | url =https://archive.org/details/cutoutsofhenrima0000mati/page/8 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last =Matisse | first =Henri | title =Jazz | publisher =Prestel Publishing | date =2001 | location =New York | page =10 | isbn =3-7913-2392-X }}</ref>
[[File:Exhibition poster gouaches découpées by Henri Matisse 1952 - SLM 27769 (cropped).tif|thumb|Cut-out, 1952.]]
He moved to the hilltop of [[Vence|Vence, France]] in 1943, where he produced his first major cut-out project for his artist's book titled ''[[Jazz (Henri Matisse)|Jazz]]''. However, these cut-outs were conceived as designs for stencil prints to be looked at in the book, rather than as independent pictorial works. At this point, Matisse still thought of the cut-outs as separate from his principal art form. His new understanding of this medium unfolds with the 1946 introduction for ''Jazz''. After summarizing his career, Matisse refers to the possibilities the cut-out technique offers, insisting "An artist must never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of a style, prisoner of a reputation, prisoner of success…"<ref name="Elderfield 1978 8" />

The number of independently conceived cut-outs steadily increased following ''Jazz'', and eventually led to the creation of mural-size works, such as ''Oceania the Sky'' and ''Oceania the Sea'' of 1946. Under Matisse's direction, Lydia Delectorskaya, his studio assistant, loosely pinned the silhouettes of birds, fish, and marine vegetation directly onto the walls of the room. The two Oceania pieces, his first cut-outs of this scale, evoked a trip to Tahiti he made years before.<ref>{{Citation
 | last =Cotter | first =Holland| title =Wisps From an Old Man's Dreams 'Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs,' a Victory Lap at MoMA
 | newspaper =New York Times| date =9 October 2014
| url =https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/10/arts/design/henri-matisse-the-cut-outs-a-victory-lap-at-moma.html| access-date =17 February 2015}}</ref>

In May 1954, his cut out ''The Sheaf'' was exhibited at the [[Salon de Mai]] and met with success.<ref>{{Cite book| title=Matisse a second life| publisher=Hazan| year=2005| page=242}}</ref> The artwork was a commission for American collectors Sidney and Frances Brody and the cut out was then adapted to a ceramic for their house in Los Angeles. It is now located in the [[Los Angeles County Museum of Art]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Henri Matisse: La Gerbe|url=http://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/henri-matisse-la-gerbe|access-date=26 September 2021|website=LACMA|language=en}}</ref>

===Chapel and museum===
In 1948, Matisse began to prepare designs for the [[Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence]], which allowed him to expand this technique within a truly decorative context. The experience of designing the chapel windows, [[chasubles]], and tabernacle door—all planned using the cut-out method—had the effect of consolidating the medium as his primary focus. Finishing his last painting in 1951 (and final sculpture the year before), Matisse utilized the paper cut-out as his sole medium for expression up until his death.<ref>{{cite book | last =Elderfield | first =John | title =The Cut-Outs of Henri Matisse | publisher =George Braziller | date =1978 | location =New York | pages =[https://archive.org/details/cutoutsofhenrima0000mati/page/9 9] | isbn =0-8076-0886-6 | url =https://archive.org/details/cutoutsofhenrima0000mati/page/9 }}</ref>

In 1952, Matisse established a museum dedicated to his work, the [[Matisse Museum (Le Cateau)|Matisse Museum in Le Cateau]], and this museum is now the third-largest collection of Matisse works in France.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

According to [[David Rockefeller]], Matisse's final work was the design for a [[stained-glass]] window installed at the [[Union Church of Pocantico Hills]] near the Rockefeller estate north of New York City: "It was his final artistic creation; the [[maquette]] was on the wall of his bedroom when he died in November of 1954." Installation was completed in 1956.<ref>{{cite web |first=David |last=Rockefeller |url=http://www.hudsonvalley.org/historic-sites/union-church-pocantico-hills |title=It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Union Church of Pocantico Hills |work=Union Church of Pocantico Hills |accessdate=2010-07-30 }}</ref>

=== Death ===
Matisse died of a heart attack at the age of 84 on November 3, 1954. He is buried in the cemetery of the Monastère Notre Dame de Cimiez, in the [[Cimiez]] neighbourhood of Nice.<ref>{{cite book
 | last =Schneider | first =Pierre | title =Matisse | publisher =George Braziller | date =1984 | location =New York | page =740 | isbn =0-500-09166-8 }}</ref>