CHICAGO, IL.- The Art Institute of Chicago opened Matisse’s Jazz: Rhythms in Color, on view March 7 through June 1, 2026. Jazz includes 20 color plates and text by Matisse and is one of the most important artist books from the 20th century, and this presentation marks the first time it has been on view in its entirety since its acquisition in 1948. The exhibition also includes more than 50 works by Matisse from across the Art Institute’s collection, exploring the famed artist’s commitment across his 50-year career to continual innovation and the expressive power of color and line.

In the early 1940s, decades into his artistic career, Matisse became bedridden and unable to paint following a surgery. He turned his focus to cut paper, which allowed him to continue to create art, including Jazz. These vibrant original compositions were then faithfully reproduced using stencil and combined with an original text written by Matisse to form the unbound book. Jazz caused an immediate international sensation and reinvigorated the aging artist, setting him on a new course of artistic discovery.

Jazz was completed in the years during the height of World War II, and while these vivid and colorful visuals recall circus scenes, memories of travel to distant lands, and popular myths and stories, they may also be interpreted as symbols of anxiety or violence. The contrast of this visual storytelling is reminiscent of the rhythm and repetition in jazz music, broken up chromatic and unexpected improvisations.

“For Matisse, Jazz was unlike anything that came before it. The syncopation of his vibrantly colored abstractions and his incredibly personal text offers a glimpse into the artist’s evolution, and a peek at an artist at his most self-reflective and vulnerable,” said Emily Ziemba, director of curatorial administration and research curator, Prints and Drawings. “The juxtaposition between the bright, whimsical images and the darker subtext they mask is a revelation and I think it will resonate with our visitors.”

Jazz is on view in conversation with more than 50 other works from the museum’s renowned collection of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, illustrated books, and textiles offering a multifaceted look at the artist’s careerlong exploration of color.

Matisse’s Jazz: Rhythms in Color is curated by Emily Ziemba, director of curatorial administration and research curator, Prints and Drawings.