Matisse Colors Amsterdam - H’ART Museum

From 3 October 2026, H’ART Museum and Centre Pompidou will present a retrospective exhibition in Amsterdam dedicated to the French artist Henri Matisse. Featuring more than eighty works, Chez Matisse – Masterpieces from Centre Pompidou offers a rich and multifaceted overview of his oeuvre, presented in dialogue with world-renowned contemporaries and followers such as Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, and Pablo Picasso. The exhibition is drawn from Centre Pompidou’s leading Matisse collection, one of the most comprehensive collections of his work in the world. 

Henri Matisse (1869–1954) is regarded as one of the most important pioneers of modern art and one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. Matisse enjoys worldwide acclaim, yet his work has rarely been shown in the Netherlands on this scale, making this exhibition particularly significant. Chez Matisse is only the third retrospective of his oeuvre ever presented in the Netherlands. The exhibition will be on view from Saturday, 3 October 2026 through Sunday, 14 February 2027. 

The exhibition offers the ultimate introduction to the work of Henri Matisse. His teacher Gustave Moreau (1826–1898) told the young Matisse early on: “You were born to simplify painting.” In the years that followed, the artist reinvented painting through his free and expressive use of color. Chez Matisse traces the remarkable development of his oeuvre, in which artistic innovation goes hand in hand with his personal and creative quest. From his early self-portrait of 1900 to the later paintings and the iconic cut-outs (presented in print form) from the final years of his life, an oeuvre unfolds that is characterized by freedom, innovation, and simplicity. In addition to being a painter, Matisse was also a sculptor, draftsman, printmaker, and book illustrator. It is precisely in the diversity of his work that his continuous innovations in form, color, and material become visible. Unlike his friend and rival Pablo Picasso, Matisse developed his style gradually and steadily, driven by the conviction that true simplicity can only emerge through years of experimentation and refinement.

The exhibition also highlights the mutual influence between Matisse and his contemporaries. Long after his death, he continues to inspire artists like few others. The exhibition features contemporaries and artistic friends such as Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947), Albert Marquet (1875–1947), Kees van Dongen (1877–1968), Natalia Goncharova (1881–1962), Georges Braque (1882–1963), Sonia Delaunay (1885–1979), and Le Corbusier (1887–1965), as well as modern masters including Mark Rothko (1903–1970), Barnett Newman (1905–1970), Anna-Eva Bergman (1909–1987), Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), Ellsworth Kelly (1923–2015), Brice Marden (1938–2023), Daniel Buren (1938), and Zoulikha Bouabdellah (1977). 

The exhibition on Henri Matisse has been made possible through the long-term collaboration between H’ART Museum and the Centre Pompidou. The Amsterdam presentation will include an exceptional loan: La Blouse roumaine, a key work that rarely leaves the Paris museum. Matisse painted the work in April 1940, on the eve of the war. The painting contains several motifs that he would further develop in his later work and that would go on to inspire generations of artists after him. This collaboration between the two institutions continues earlier exhibitions dedicated to Wassily Kandinsky (2024) and Constantin Brancusi (2025–2026). The exhibition and partnership are part of Centre Pompidou’s “Constellation” program, which allows the multidisciplinary cultural institution to remain active and dynamic during the renovation of its historic Paris building. 
 
This exhibition is made possible thanks to the indispensable support of founder VriendenLoterij; partners Aegon, ELJA Foundation, the City of Amsterdam and ABN AMRO; the funds Blockbusterfonds, FONDS 21, the Cultuurfonds, the Mondriaan Fund and Zabawas; as well as the H’ART Museum Circle and Friends.

Since 1977, Centre Pompidou has been a place of living, engaged culture, a multidisciplinary center deeply rooted in society and open to the world. In 2025, it embarked on a true metamorphosis, allowing it to remain active and dynamic throughout its renovation and until its reopening in 2030. Through the Constellation program, the spirit of Centre Pompidou is embodied in numerous partner locations in France and abroad, including Centre Pompidou-Metz, the Grand Palais, and soon Centre Pompidou Francilien in Massy.   

For the past fifteen years, Centre Pompidou has strengthened its international presence through traveling exhibitions, exceptional loans, and lasting collaborations. This approach aims to disseminate its collections, share expertise, and create dialogues between artistic scenes, while contributing to French cultural diplomacy. The opening of Centre Pompidou around the world plays a key role in this strategy. Following Malaga in 2015 and Shanghai in 2019, two new international locations are opening in Seoul and Brussels in 2026, marking an important step in the institution’s history. Centre Pompidou favors tailored and evolving collaborations, confirming its role as a key player in the global circulation of art and museum practices.

Image captions 
From left to right: Henri Matisse, Nature morte au buffet vert, 1928. Collection Centre Pompidou. Domaine public. Photo © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/Bertrand Prévost/Dist. GrandPalaisRmn; Henri Matisse, La Blouse roumaine, avril 1940. Collection Centre Pompidou. Domaine public. Photo © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/Philippe Migeat/Dist. GrandPalaisRmn; Pablo Picasso, Nature morte au bougeoir, 08 avril 1944. Collection Centre Pompidou © Succession Picasso. Photo © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/Jacqueline Hyde/Dist. GrandPalaisRmn.

Press opening invitation: Thursday, October 1 at 10:00 AM. More information about the program will follow. Please register via pressoffice@hartmuseum.nl. 

Images can be downloaded at hartmuseum.nl/press. For special image requests, please contact us at pressoffice@hartmuseum.nl. Download the digital press kit here.  

Contact H’ART Museum
Press & Marketing Communications Department
Madeline van Vliet and Paul Somers 
+31 (0)20 626 81 68 | pressoffice@hartmuseum.nl 

www.hartmuseum.nl/pers/