Matisse in Corsica: The Exhibition That Traces His Color Revelation

The Musée de la Corse in Corte is currently showcasing an exhibition titled '1898, Matisse en Corse, «Un Pays Merveilleux»,' which runs until December 30, 2021. Curated by Jacques Poncin and Dominique Szymusiak, it explores Henri Matisse's transformative six-month honeymoon in Ajaccio during 1898. At 29, Matisse made the journey from northern France, enchanted by the Mediterranean's stunning light and colors, telling his friend Marquet, "I’m in a wonderful land… the blue sea, so blue you could eat it." The exhibit features around twenty paintings from that period, lent by notable institutions like the Pushkin Museum and Musée Matisse de Nice, tracing his artistic evolution and showing how Corsica inspired his vibrant color palette. Historical documents and a recreation of 19th-century Ajaccio are also part of it. Matisse expressed, "It was in Ajaccio that I discovered my great wonder for the South… I felt my passion for color develop." The exhibition wraps up with his later works, characterized by vibrant colors reminiscent of Gauguin's style in Brittany.