Making a big impression

Major exhibition showcases the groundbreaking creations of French modernist artist Henri Matisse, Zhang Kun reports.

The first comprehensive exhibition of Henri Matisse (1869-1954), the French modernist master and inventor of Fauvism, opened at UCCA Edge in Shanghai on Saturday and will run until Feb 18.

The exhibition, titled Matisse by Matisse, features more than 280 artworks from the Matisse Museum that made their China debut in Beijing earlier this year, in an exhibition held from July 15 to Oct 15 at the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art. More than 200,000 people visited the showcase in Beijing.

The Matisse Museum was founded by Matisse himself in his hometown of Le Cateau-Cambresis. Two years before his death, Matisse donated works from his own collection to the museum and was even actively involved in the design of the original gallery spaces and details of the display.