Matisse and the Eskimos

The catalogue is about the French artist Henri Matisse (1869-1954) and reflects the exhibition’s focus on the artist’s series of portraits of Inuits – or as they were referred to at the time, Eskimos. Matisse made this series late in his life for a specific project also including literature. As unfolded in the catalogue these portraits represent an artistic adventure that involves the hybridisation of two very different cultures and worlds represented by Matisse and the Eskimos.