Dedication to the Great Matisse

The Conservation Project

Insurer, collector, patron of the arts: Nationale Suisse commits itself with passion to the fine arts and their spiritual values. One fine example is its support for the largest conservation project undertaken to date by the Fondation Beyeler – a key work by Henri Matisse has been successfully restored.

Henri Matisse, "Acanthes", 1953, charcoal and paper cutouts painted in gouache glued on paper on canvas, 311 x 350.5 cm. Fondation Beyeler, Riehen / Basel, © 2013 Succession Henri Matisse / ProLitteris, Zurich

After three years of extensive research, conservation and restoration, the remarkable project featuring Henri Matisse’s work "Acanthes" was successfully concluded in September 2012. "Acanthes" (1953) is a major work from the series of large-format "papiers découpés" ("paper cut-outs") by Henri Matisse, who, alongside Pablo Picasso, ranks among the foremost Modernist artists.

Thanks to the support from Nationale Suisse, the Fondation Beyeler was able to acquire important research findings that made the necessary conservation measures possible. We are pleased to make a key work by Matisse accessible to you again through this project, of important to the entire art world: The newly framed work will take up a prominent position at the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen in 2013.

Complex Technique

Despite its huge size of 311 x 250.5 cm, "Acanthes" appears light. The complex arrangement and painting technique consists of multiple layers of wood, canvas, various papers and paints. The different materials are subject to differing ageing processes, which made the restoration task so challenging.

More about this truly grand work and the conservation work are to be found under acanthes.fondationbeyeler.ch.