Matisse's 'La Tristesse du roi' celebrated at Grand Palais exhibition

Henri Matisse's monumental 1952 work 'La Tristesse du roi' is a highlight of the exhibition 'Matisse. 1941-1954' at the Grand Palais in Paris, running from March 24 to July 26, 2026. Created two years before his death, the nearly four-meter-tall gouache découpée is considered his artistic testament. The composition, inspired by Rembrandt's 'David Playing the Harp before Saul', features a dark silhouette holding a guitar, symbolizing the aged artist in a wheelchair. Surrounding elements include a dancing figure, musical notes, and an odalisque, reflecting Matisse's lifelong themes of music, dance, color, and an imagined Orient. The work belongs to the Centre Pompidou, Mnam, Paris. Matisse developed the cut-out technique after 1947, starting with the album 'Jazz' published by Tériade, while bedridden. The exhibition focuses on this late period, which blurs drawing, painting, and collage.