The horse, the rider and the clown by Henri Matisse Julie de Graag confident palette

confident palette

The result is both intensely observed and wholly impressionistic: a garden remembered as feeling more than fact

contemporary approach to nature-inspired illustration

while intertwining spiral forms and organic petal shapes weave through the vertical space with gentle momentum

celebratory mood

The horse, the rider and the clown by Henri Matisse Julie de Graag confident paletteFrom Matisse's 'Jazz' series, 'The Horse, the Rider and the Clown' translates the spectacle of the circus ring into pure colour and silhouette. The three figures each rendered as a flat cut paper form are arranged with an almost childlike directness that belies Matisse's total compositional control. Deep blues and warm ochres anchor the scene, while the dynamic interplay between figure and ground gives the composition an energy that feels both