Henri Matisse
(French, 1869–1954)
The Nightmare of the White Elephant, Plate IV from the portfolio Jazz
Object Details
Artist
Henri Matisse
Date
1947
Medium
Pochoir on Arches paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 16 9/16 × 25 1/2 inches (42 × 64.8 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Bruce Allyn Eissner, Class of 1965, and Judith Pick Eissner
Object
Number
80.063.004
This image, like all of the prints in the Jazz series, was produced using pochoir, an early form of (…)
This image, like all of the prints in the Jazz series, was produced using pochoir, an early form of screenprint Matisse turned to late in life in response to being physically impaired and confined to a chair. The entire series explores themes of the circus and the rhythms and sounds of jazz music. The Nightmare shows one of the darker scenes: while an elephant dances on a ball, various red, daggerlike forms impale it. The image reads as an intense, discordant jazz anthem—black shapes moving in, out, and around the scene like trombones blowing, red shapes like staccato bursts of the trumpet, a blue star like a saxophone blast— visual sounds coming together to form the wail of the elephant during its nightmare. (“Imprint/ In Print,” curated by Nancy E. Green with assistance from Christian Waibel ’17 and presented at the Johnson Museum August 8 – December 20, 2015)