Matisse and Picasso

A portrait of art, rivalry and friendship: Matisse and Picasso’s iconic duel and its place within the history of twentieth century art.

Fiercely competitive, Matisse and Picasso engaged in one of the most formidable artistic dialogs of this century. In Matisse and Picasso, Yve-Alain Bois stages the intertwined evolution of the two giants of modern art as though it were an ongoing game of chess between two masters. After an overview of the extraordinarily powerful dialog between the two artists during the first part of their careers, Bois concentrates on the unique partnership as it developed from the early 1930s on, at the time when the two artists, who had been distant for more than a decade, renewed their interchange. As Joachim Pissarro points out in the foreword of this volume, Matisse and Picasso's dense plot and rich narrative make this work read more like a suspense novel than a traditional art history treatise. Bois' thoroughly researched historical demonstration is supported by striking visual juxtapositions of works by the two artists brought together here for the first time, making this key study a major contribution to the history of twentieth-century art.

About the Author

Yve-Alain Bois is the Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., Professor of Modern Art at Harvard University. He has written extensively on twentieth-century art, from Matisse and Picasso to post-war American art, particularly Minimal art.