If a single common thread were to link Henri Matisse (1869-1954) and Yves Saint Laurent (1936-2008), it would undoubtedly be their shared determination to transcend the traditional boundaries between fine arts and applied arts. For Henri Matisse (1869-1954), the dynamism of decorative prints becomes the means of creating a pictorial space that “extends beyond the limits of the tangible”;[1] for Yves Saint Laurent (1936-2008), painting offers the possibility of moving from plane to volume, of conceiving the garment as a mobile elementthat unfolds in the space, an art in movement. Sewing and painting were activities that involved the ‘same experimentation with lines, and the same precision in the arrangement of contrasts, between the materials and the volumes’,[2] and even though Henri Matisse and Yves Saint Laurent never met, it now appears that the ‘dialogue’ between them was well established.
The exhibition aims to highlight these connections and to create a dialogue between the works of the two artists. It relies on the rich collections of the Musée Matisse Nice and of the Fondation Pierre Bergé–Yves Saint Laurent, complemented by prestigious loans, from both French and international institutions.
Bringing together 160 works—haute couture garments, traditional costumes, paintings, drawings, textiles, accessories and archival documents—the Musée Matisse Nice offers a unique journey highlighting the profound unity of the ties that the couturier—one of the greatest innovators in French fashion—has woven with Henri Matisse, one of the greatest artists of his time.