Cut OutsPoster con cornice

Cut Outs shows shapes cut from painted paper and laid down flat. Matisse worked with scissors, not a brush, and the edges show the pressure of the blade as it moved. Each piece sits where he put it, with no shading to soften the join.

A framed poster like this belongs on a wall where daylight falls from the side. The frame can follow the room: a light frame on a dark wall, a dark frame on a pale one, a wood frame beside wooden furniture.

In a stairwell, the shapes catch your eye between steps. Halfway down you notice how one cut edge overlaps another and leaves a thin gap.