Between 1914 and 1917, Matisse made a series of 69 monotypes, the only monotypes of his career.
Matisse created his black-and-white monotypes by covering a copper plate with black ink and then lightly and swiftly scratching into the pigment with a tool, so that the linework emerged through the dark ink ground. To transfer the image to paper, damp paper was laid on top of the plate and then run through the printing press, so the paper picked up the ink from the plate. Matisse’s monotypes are the inverse of his etchings made during the same period of time, many of which utilized the same copper plates.
The monotype also had a dramatic impact on the artist’s paintings from this time, leading him to simplify outlines, suppress details, and employ black to express a tension between positive and negative space. Despite their differences in scale, the black monotypes have affinity with the black that assumed an important role in Matisse’s colorful paintings of the time. This is particularly evident in The Moroccans (1915–16), … which demonstrates the artist’s generous use of black paint as a means of unifying the composition.
Printmaker’s Show at the League this weekend
Reception: Saturday March 23, 5:00-7:00
Show Open:
Saturday, March 23, 11:00-7:00
Saturday, March 24, 11:00-5:00
Seattle Artist League
10219 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133
Day 22 of our 30 day January Challenge was an optical illusion inspired by Patrick Hughes and Mrs Belzner’s class. This is a project that requires movement to do it’s optical deceit, so to see the projects at their best, go to Instagram and look for #30sal videos posted around January 22, 23, 24. Also, …
The Kodak Model 1 Box camera sold for $25 (about $680 today) with 100 exposures of film preloaded. The artist only needed to point and pull the wire (pre-shutter button). The winding key at the top enabled selfwinding. A camera reload cost $10 (about $250 today). The photographs Breitner took were less static than the …
The surrealist movement was, in part, a reaction to fascism. As a student I assumed some of the surrealist art was motivated by political protest, a refusal to make sense or be pretty. Looking around today at a world I thought I understood, but now seems misshapen and horrifying, I think I understand why the …
The League is turning three years old. I am proud to say we are growing and thriving both as a school, and as a community of artists. We are an art school of collected individuals, an art school where no one creates artwork in the same way, and every artist has a story. This diversity …
Matisse’s Monoprints
Printmaker’s Show at the League this weekend
Reception: Saturday March 23, 5:00-7:00
Show Open:
Saturday, March 23, 11:00-7:00
Saturday, March 24, 11:00-5:00
Seattle Artist League
10219 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133
We have art, and we have beer.
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