This book is an ambitious, original look at this popular artist's most demanding, experimental, and surprising creations. The book represents the first sustained examination of Matisse's output from this important period, revealing fascinating information about his working methods, experimental techniques, and compositional choices that was uncovered through extensive new research undertaken that the Art Institute of Chicago and The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Incorporating over 650 illustrations--including never-before-published details as well as xray, infrared, and archival images--this groundbreaking volume exemplifies a new kind of art history that fully integrates historical, technical, and scientific information.