馬蒂斯的插畫

今日到本城的 Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) 看馬蒂斯（ Henri Matisse ）展覽。展覽題名 Matisse: Drawing Life ，展出以繪畫（ drawings ）為主，油畫（ paintings ）不多。馬蒂斯的繪畫作，鮮條圓渾輕巧－－看似率性勾勒，其實有一番心機，他說，希望筆觸似春日輕盈，能掩蓋背後苦功。肖像畫千變萬化，帶有漫畫色彩，實驗到一個地步，索性放棄輪廓的刻劃，情態卻更突出。有一系列六、七張 arabesque 繪畫，筆觸一幅比一幅簡單，最錯一幅跡近掃描，芭蕾舞者的形體，曲線分明，肌理細緻，到最後一張，只剩三數線條，完全抽象了。

馬蒂斯原來多作插畫，曾為馬拉美（ Stéphane Mallarmé ）詩作、（ James Joyce ）的《尤利西斯》（ Ulysses ）及波特萊爾（ Charles Baudelaire ）的《惡之華》（ Fleurs du Mal/Flowers of Evil ）作插畫。馬拉美的詩，他往往把詩句背頌如流，而後作畫，《尤利西斯》則似乎不是心頭好，促使他栽進荷馬的洪荒神話世界尋找靈感。

其為《惡之華》試作的封面圖（展出共三幅）叫人驚歎。輕巧花俏中有強烈個人色彩，又有巴黎二、三十年代的韻味。其中一幅，我以為是以抽象化的罌粟花為主體（可惜館內禁止拍攝！）。

他為1946年版的《惡之華》插畫三十三幅，其書應已散佚，簡單經過，試抄書在此：

"Matisse selected 33 of the work's (Fleur du Mal) 160 poems, chosing themes of feminine beauty, passion and travel; he avoided all concerned with sorrow and spleen. Due to a technical failure in the lithographic process, the printing of the edition failed. Only 5 copies survived, one of which (displayed) Matisse gave to Lydia Delectorskaya (Makuranososhi note: Matisse's favourite model, Russian) who subsequently donated it to the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg."

該書收在展櫃內，因此無緣翻閱。展出的八、九幅插畫，都是肖像畫。但故事未完：

"Following the printing failure of the first edition, Louis Aragon (a friend of Matisse's) persuaded the Bibliotheque Francaise to publish the work the following year in an edition of 320. Matisse drew initial letters and ornaments for this new edition with a reed pen and ink, in a simple cursive script he described as "a long dancing serpent". For the book's cover, he decided on a simple contour, part seaweed frond, part leaf. It is similar to the paper cut-outs Matisse made at the same time."

上述的 second edition ，State Library of Queensland 藏有一冊，在展覽中亦有展出。展覽完後大概可以去圖書館翻一翻......？