Matisse/Diebenkorn at the Baltimore Museum of Art

More than 90 paintings and drawings by Henri Matisse (1869-1954) and Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993) show the French modern master’s enduring influence on one of the greatest post-war American painters.

Diebenkorn’s long engagement with Matisse’s work is among the most productive instances of one painter looking at another’s paintings in the history of 20th-century art. This landmark exhibition brings together a stunning array of works loaned from museums and private collections throughout the U.S. and Europe to follow the trajectory of Diebenkorn’s long and successful career with some of the powerful works by Matisse that the younger artist would have seen.

In the 1960s, Diebenkorn traveled through Europe and – already having studied Matisse’s paintings in the US – was determined to visit museums with works by the French artist. And while Henri Matisse was his greatest and most enduring influence, Diebenkorn also held a lifelong admiration for the work of Pierre Bonnard, Paul Cézanne, Piet Mondrian, and others.

Among the exhibition’s many highlights are bold, groundbreaking paintings by Matisse from his most adventurous years, as well as highlights from nearly every phase of Diebenkorn’s oeuvre from the early 1950s to 1980—including several monumental canvases from his Ocean Park series, a renowned exploration of color, light, and space.

The Baltimore Museum of Art is the only East Coast venue for this highly anticipated exhibition, co-organized with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Following the Baltimore presentation, Matisse/Diebenkorn will be on view in San Francisco March 11 – May 29, 2017.

The Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218. Tel: 443-573-1700. Web: artbma.org. Matisse/Diebenkorn is showing through January 29, 2017.