The Barnes Foundation Presents Constellation of Programs Celebrating Henri Matisse
Archives exhibition focused on The Dance, plus classes, talks, and tours exploring Matisse and the Barnes Collection
Philadelphia, PA, October 24, 2022—This fall, the Barnes Foundation is presenting a constellation of programs celebrating the art of Henri Matisse and the artist’s significant relationship with Dr. Albert C. Barnes to coincide with the major exhibition Matisse in the 1930s on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. At the Barnes, a special archives exhibition, Matisse, Dr. Barnes, and “The Dance,” on view on the Lower Level, presents historic photographs and letters that reveal the story behind the mural Matisse created for the Barnes Foundation.
“The Barnes collection is home to a remarkable 59 works by Henri Matisse, including The Dance—its only site-specific work—and Le bonheur de vivre, or The Joy of Life, one of the watershed paintings in the history of European modernism,” says Thom Collins, Neubauer Family Executive Director and President. “When Matisse visited the collection in 1930, Dr. Barnes asked him to make a monumental painting to fill the lunettes of the Main Gallery. The finished mural, The Dance, ended up being a creative milestone in Matisse’s career and launched an entirely new form of artistic expression for him that resulted in some of his most innovative late work. For Matisse lovers, Philadelphia is the ultimate destination this fall.”
Additionally, throughout the fall, the Barnes is hosting Matisse-focused classes, including Matisse and Color (online; Wednesdays, Nov. 9–Dec. 7, 4–6 pm) and Matisse: The 1930s and Beyond (online; Fridays, Nov. 11–Dec. 9, 12–2 pm); a lecture featuring Yve-Alain Bois on Matisse (on-site; Sat. Nov. 12, 11:30 am–12:30 pm); and a special spotlight tour titled Matisse, Dr. Barnes, and The Dance, which is offered Thursdays–Mondays at 1 pm through the end of November. Further details are listed below.
ARCHIVES EXHIBITION
Matisse, Dr. Barnes, and “The Dance”
Through September 18, 2023 (on view on the Lower Level)
In 1930, Albert Barnes commissioned Henri Matisse to create a mural spanning the length of the collection’s Main Gallery. It was a massive, complicated project—much larger than anything Matisse had ever done—and over the next several years, it would test the patience of both artist and client. Through archival photographs and letters between Dr. Barnes and Matisse, this exhibition presents a behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of this extraordinary work of art.
CLASSES
Online Class: Matisse and Color
Wednesdays, November 9–December 7, 4–6 pm
$220; members $198 (4 classes, no class November 23)
Matisse was enthralled by color—an expressive life force for the artist whether it was opaque, transparent, saturated, or subtly nuanced. In this class, we will examine how Matisse created a new way of using color, a style that became known as fauvism.
Instructor: Michael Williamson
Online Class: Matisse: The 1930s and Beyond
Fridays, November 11–December 9, noon–2 pm
$220; members $198 (no class November 25)
Coinciding with the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s exhibition Matisse in the 1930s, this course explores a critical decade in Henri Matisse’s career—one that helped reshape the artist’s vision and working process for years to come.
Instructors: Camran Mani and Ellen McBreen
TOURS
October Spotlight Tour: Matisse, Dr. Barnes, and The Dance
Thursdays–Mondays, 1 pm
Weekdays $35; weekends $45; members free
Each month, Spotlight Tours focus on a different artist or theme, allowing for a deeper dive into specific areas of the collection. Albert Barnes amassed an astonishing 59 works by Henri Matisse, several of which are watershed paintings in the history of modern art. These include Le bonheur de vivre (The Joy of Life), a fauve bombshell painted in 1906, and The Dance, the monumental mural that Dr. Barnes commissioned from the artist during his visit to the Barnes Foundation in 1930.
November Spotlight Tour: Matisse, Dr. Barnes, and The Dance
Thursdays–Mondays, 1 pm
Weekdays $35; weekends $45; members free
Each month, Spotlight Tours focus on a different artist or theme, allowing for a deeper dive into specific areas of the collection. Albert Barnes amassed an astonishing 59 works by Henri Matisse, several of which are watershed paintings in the history of modern art. These include Le bonheur de vivre (The Joy of Life), a fauve bombshell painted in 1906, and The Dance, the monumental mural that Dr. Barnes commissioned from the artist during his visit to the Barnes Foundation in 1930.
TALKS
Lecture: Yve-Alain Bois on Matisse
Saturday, November 12, 11:30 am–12:30 pm
$10 on-site; $8 online; members and students free. Registration required.
In 1930, Dr. Albert Barnes commissioned a large mural from Henri Matisse for the Main Gallery of his foundation. The making of The Dance marked a turning point in the artist’s career. Simply put, it led to a creative reboot. Matisse abandoned the conservative style he adopted in the 1920s and began bold new experiments in color and materials.
In this talk, art scholar Yve-Alain Bois traces the history of the monumental commission and its impact on Matisse. He delves into the challenges of the project, including its immense scale; in a letter to Dr. Barnes, Matisse wrote that he had to “find a way to extend my legs and arms” for the “superhuman” dimensions. The artist solved the problem with a long drawing stick and paper cutouts—both of which he returned to in a frenzy of creative output at the end of the 1940s. Bois will also discuss the recently recovered documents (letters, diagrams, technical notes, and more) that illustrate a fuller picture of Matisse’s work on The Dance, including the devastating mistake that set the artist back by more than a year.
CATALOGUE
Available at the Barnes Shop, Matisse in the Barnes Foundation (2016), edited by distinguished art historian Yve-Alain Bois, is the first publication dedicated to the Barnes’s expansive collection of works by the renowned artist, Henri Matisse. The 59 works by Matisse in the Barnes collection span the artist’s career and include his two most historically significant paintings: Le bonheur de vivre, the work that made his reputation, and the monumental Dance mural commissioned by Albert C. Barnes, which transformed the Foundation’s Main Gallery and the artist’s career. An essay by Bois addresses the evolution of The Dance and its place in Matisse’s oeuvre. Karen Butler examines Dr. Barnes’s opinion of Matisse, and Claudine Grammont considers how and why Barnes collected the artist’s work.
In the catalogue section, Matisse’s works are sumptuously reproduced and discussed in depth. The book includes major contributions by Barnes senior director of conservation and chief conservator of paintings Barbara Buckley and conservation scientist Jennifer Mass on the artist’s technique and the latest findings on the pigments used in Le bonheur de vivre, as well as the exchange of correspondence between Dr. Barnes and Matisse concerning The Dance commission. All documentary photographs showing the different states of The Dance are published together for the first time.
SPONSORS OF MATISSE, DR. BARNES, AND “THE DANCE”
The archives exhibition Matisse, Dr. Barnes, and “The Dance” is made possible, in part, by support from the Family of Albert H. Nulty, Elie Abemayor, Linda and Donald Adams, Nancy Dillard Barth, Frances and Michael Baylson, Joan S. Blaine, Carole and Jack Schultz, and other generous individuals.
ABOUT THE BARNES FOUNDATION
The Barnes Foundation is a nonprofit cultural and educational institution that shares its unparalleled art collection with the public, organizes special exhibitions, and presents programming that fosters new ways of thinking about human creativity. The Barnes collection is displayed in ensembles that integrate art and objects from across cultures and time periods, overturning traditional hierarchies and revealing universal elements of human expression. Home to one of the world’s finest collections of impressionist, post-impressionist, and modern paintings—including the largest groups of paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Paul Cézanne in existence—the Barnes brings together renowned canvases by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, and Vincent van Gogh, alongside African, Asian, ancient, medieval, and Native American art as well as metalwork, furniture, and decorative art.
The Barnes Foundation was established by Dr. Albert C. Barnes in 1922 to “promote the advancement of education and the appreciation of the fine arts and horticulture.” A visionary collector and pioneering educator, Dr. Barnes was also a fierce advocate for the civil rights of African Americans, women, and the economically marginalized. Committed to racial equality and social justice, he established a scholarship program to support young Black artists, writers, and musicians who wanted to further their education. Dr. Barnes was deeply interested in African American culture and became actively involved in the Harlem Renaissance, during which he collaborated with philosopher Alain Locke and Charles S. Johnson, the scholar and activist, to promote awareness of the artistic value of African art.
Since moving to Philadelphia in 2012, the Barnes Foundation has expanded its commitment to diversity, inclusion, and social justice, teaching visual literacy in groundbreaking ways; investing in original scholarship relating to its collection; and enhancing accessibility throughout every facet of its programs.
The Barnes Foundation is situated in Lenapehoking, the ancestral homeland of the Lenape people. Read our Land Acknowledgment.
Hours and ticket prices are listed on our website.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION
Deirdre Maher, Director of Communications
215.278.7160, press@barnesfoundation.org
Online press office: barnesfoundation.org/press