AN ABUNDANCE OF LIGHT

After a trip to Morocco, Henri Matisse (1869-1954) finds his despair lifting, and he begins to paint again.

The artist is in a deep funk. “Everything and everyone [feels] cloudy. Everything and everyone [feels] dark.” He travels to Tangier, searching for abundant sunlight, only to discover more rain; once more, he feels “cloudy and dark.” As the sun returns, Stringer’s black-and-white illustrations give way to the bold colors favored by Matisse, who finds inspiration in the old Medina, the city’s markets and gardens, and memories of his family’s colorful rugs and painted teacups. Stringer periodically repeats that Henri grew up in a “black and gray town” in France, which further heightens the moment when he experiences the “abundance of light” in Tangier that resurrects his desire to paint again. Buoyed by the sun, Henri paints views from his window and portraits of locals including a Rifi warrior (one of the Amazigh people who live in the Rif Mountains). A combination of pastel, charcoal, gouache, and digital media on watercolor paper, Stringer’s energetic illustrations convey her subject’s exuberance; her vivid spreads feature aspects of Moroccan culture such as babouches (pointed yellow slippers), haik (a traditional women’s garment), and ouds (a kind of musical instrument). The appended visual glossary will help readers home in on these details of Moroccan life.

A sophisticated look at painting, seen through the eyes of a renowned artist.