Image

Henri Matisse

The Nightmare of the White Elephant (Le Cauchemar de l'éléphant blanc)

Description

Maker

Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954), designer

Title

The Nightmare of the White Elephant (Le Cauchemar de l'éléphant blanc)
from the artist's book Jazz,

Year

1947

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

color pochoir

Supports

Dimensions

Plate: 41.1 x 63.8 cm (16 3/16 x 25 1/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Original--Verso:in pencil inscribed, center of right edge:Roh/GW135

Identification

State

100

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Mary B. Jackson Fund

Object Number

1987.058

Type

Projects & Publications

Publications

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Circus
Aug 01, 2014 – Feb 22, 2015

Label copy

Here Henri Matisse creates an overall sense of the chaotic atmosphere of the center ring, with harsh red slashes and black undulating forms which almost obscure the elephant who stands on a ball in the background.

In 1943, at the age of 74, Matisse began work on the portfolio Jazz, 20 prints of circus and theater images accompanied by texts and poems. His “crystallizations of memories of the circus” were designed using paper cutouts, which Matisse arranged as collages. Assistants then prepared the collages for printing using a stencil process called pochoir.

New Art for Providence
Jul 20, 1990 – Sep 16, 1990

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Tombstone

Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954), designer
The Nightmare of the White Elephant (Le Cauchemar de l'éléphant blanc); from the artist's book Jazz,, 1947
Color pochoir on paper
Plate: 41.1 x 63.8 cm (16 3/16 x 25 1/8 inches)
Mary B. Jackson Fund 1987.058

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