Major exhibition showcases the groundbreaking creations of French modernist artist Henri Matisse, Zhang Kun reports.

Huang Jiehua (left), UCCA deputy director of research, guides visitors on the opening day of the Matisse by Matisse exhibition at the UCCA Edge in Shanghai. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The first comprehensive exhibition of Henri Matisse (1869-1954), the French modernist master and inventor of Fauvism, opened at UCCA Edge in Shanghai on Saturday and will run until Feb 18.

The exhibition, titled Matisse by Matisse, features more than 280 artworks from the Matisse Museum that made their China debut in Beijing earlier this year, in an exhibition held from July 15 to Oct 15 at the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art. More than 200,000 people visited the showcase in Beijing.

(Henri) Matisse reflected the vibrant artistic exchanges between China and France.

Joan Valadou, consul general of France in Shanghai

The Matisse Museum was founded by Matisse himself in his hometown of Le Cateau-Cambresis. Two years before his death, Matisse donated works from his own collection to the museum and was even actively involved in the design of the original gallery spaces and details of the display.

"We felt that by showing this collection, we are showing Matisse's personal selection of his own artworks, and we used that as the concept of the exhibition," says Philip Tinari, director of the UCCA museum.

Curated by Patrice Deparpe, director and chief curator of the Matisse Museum, the exhibition documents the entire career and range of the French artist's oeuvre across 11 sections that feature oil paintings, sculptures, ink drawings, prints, cut-outs, illustrations and textiles.

Self-Portrait, Nice, 1918, oil on canvas. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Both the exhibition in Beijing and Shanghai were designed by Pascal Rodriguez, but the curatorial narrative takes on a different expression in Shanghai. UCCA Beijing is located in a former factory with large open spaces and high ceilings, meaning that temporary walls had to be erected to create rooms for different sections of the show.

The showcase at UCCA Edge in Shanghai, however, takes up three levels of a commercial building located next to the Suzhou Creek in Shanghai.

"Many works in the show are not huge in size. There are intimate works on paper, drawings and smaller collages, so the scale of the space in Shanghai actually works very well, because viewers can get very close to the artworks," says Tinari.

The final section of the exhibition Matisse, Fauvism, and Modern Chinese Painting has special significance to Shanghai as the introduction of Matisse and the beginning of his impact on China's modern art scene largely took place in the metropolis from the 1920s onward.

Large Head of Katia, 1950-51. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Liu Haisu (1896-1994), who was considered one of the founding fathers of modern Chinese art education, was one of the first to promote Matisse in China. In this section organized by UCCA Deputy Director of Research Huang Jiehua, visitors will see the first collection of Matisse's paintings published in China.

In 1929, China witnessed one of the first public disputes in the nation's art scene, with Shanghai's newspapers divided over artistic differences. The first national art exhibition took place in Shanghai that year and sparked wide public interest, and introduced the styles and ideas of modern Western artists, such as Paul Cezanne and Matisse, to the public.

Xu Beihong (1895-1953), an important artist and educator in China, strongly disapproved of the paintings by Matisse, Cezanne and Pierre Bonnard, describing them as "of poor quality". On the other hand, renowned poet and essayist Xu Zhimo (1897-1931) published essays defending Matisse and modernist art. This public discussion had a great impact on China's art history.

Two Young Girls, the Yellow Dress, and the Scottish Dress, Nice, 1941, oil on canvas. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Visitors can see excerpts of the argument from the replica of a handwritten letter from Xu Beihong. In the letter, addressed to a friend, Xu praised Van Gogh as an exceptional artist "standing apart from Cezanne and Matisse".

"While Matisse's creation depicts influence of Asian art from both China and Japan, we can find traces of influence by Matisse in the works of important modern Chinese artists such as Liu Haisu, Sanyu, and Zao Wou-ki," said Joan Valadou, consul general of France in Shanghai, at the opening of the exhibition. "Matisse reflected the vibrant artistic exchanges between China and France."

Valadou points out that art and culture has always been of great importance to exchanges between China and France, and that the Matisse exhibition in Shanghai will be part of the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France next year.

Window in Tahiti or Tahiti II, 1935-36, gouache and tempera on canvas. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The Matisse Museum originally opened in the town hall of Matisse's hometown in 1952, where the Matisse family lived for almost 300 years. It was moved to Fenelon Palace, a building from the 18th century, in 1982. As the museum is currently undergoing renovation and is closed to the public, many of its artworks have been able to make an appearance in China. The museum is expected to reopen in June next year.

"We hope Chinese visitors can come to our museum and see the artworks here in Le Cateau-Cambresis, a small town in northern France that is no more than two hours by train from Paris," says Sophie le Flamanc, deputy director of the Matisse Museum in France.

If you go

Matisse by Matisse

Nov 4-Feb 18, Tue-Sun, 10 am-7 pm.

UCCA Edge, 2F, 88 Xizang Beilu, Jing'an district, Shanghai.

021-6628-6861

Contact the writer at zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn