Matisse cut-outs

Paper cut-outs: 'The Sword Swallower' from 'Jazz' by Henri Matisse.

The original edition of 'Jazz' was published in 1947.
These pages are from a facsimile edition I own, from 1983.

The text in Matisse's own handwriting [translation mine] says:
The human spirit.
The artist must bring fullness of energy, sincerity, and the greatest modesty in order to exclude, during the creation of the artwork, the old clichés.

Highly recommended:

1. A video intro (scroll down to middle of page) to the Matisse show at the Tate Modern.

2. For those interested in the process of art, an article and video on the method used to create the poster for the Tate show.

3. The Matisse cut-outs exhibit, which won a brilliant reception at the Tate Modern, will reprise at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in October.