The Snail
by Henri Matisse, 1953
Artwork Details
Details
- Year
- 1953
- Medium
- Gouache on paper, cut and pasted
- Size
- 286 cm × 287 cm (112.6 × 113 in)
Cite or Embed This Work
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Henri Matisse created this The Snail in 1953, near the end of his life. Unable to paint due to illness, he directed assistants to cut shapes from paper he had painted with gouache. The resulting collage spirals outward in blocks of brilliant orange, blue, green, and violet.
Matisse called this technique "painting with scissors." The Snail abstracts the mollusk's spiral shell into pure color relationships. At nearly 3 meters square, it's monumental despite its simple materials. The work influenced generations of abstract painters and demonstrates how limitation can spark innovation. It hangs at Tate Modern.
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About The Snail
After surgery in 1941, Matisse was often confined to bed or wheelchair. He couldn't stand to paint. Cutting painted paper allowed him to continue making large-scale works.
The spiral arrangement abstracts a snail's shell into pure color blocks. You can sense the spiraling movement without any literal representation of the creature.
The work measures 286 × 287 cm (about 9 × 9 feet). Its monumental scale belies the humble materials of painted paper and paste.
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