Imagine that you are a curator who has been asked to
put together an exhibition of Matisse’s drawings—a
delightful project and one that you might think would be hard to carry out badly. A show made up entirely of
Matisse’s canonical masterpieces in pen and ink or charcoal
would not only be easy to select, but virtually foolproof—if
you could get the loans, which is another matter. Even if you were forced to rely on only the most readily
available of this master draughtsman’s efforts, it would be
difficult to organize a Matisse drawing show that didn’t
include at least some perfectly wonderful things.
Then imagine another kind of exhibition, one made up of a few
deservedly celebrated, textbook examples, mixed with
unfamiliar versions of typical motifs, little-known studies
for well-known paintings, and more or less unknown drawings,
all of equal or even higher quality than the famous ones.
You might reject this third alternative as too difficult,
since it would involve tracking down hard to locate works,
winning the confidence of their owners, prying loose
seldom-seen drawings from lovingly guarded private collections, and
all the rest of those challenging activities that demand
that curators combine expertise in art history with the
abilities of bloodhounds, diplomats, and therapists. Yet it
would be worth the effort. The result would be truly
exciting: a show that both fulfilled expectations and
offered unexpected pleasures, and that might even enlarge
our understanding of this thoroughly studied but still
elusive artist.
