MATISSE’S “RADICAL INVENTION”: A WINDOW ON THERAPEUTIC CHANGE

Invention 1913–1917, ” focused on a breakthrough in Matisse’s art that the curators attribute to the impact of World War I. That this dramatic change may be linked to the trauma of war is explored by studying the art itself, biographical material, and the artist’s own insightful comments. The thesis is advanced that the catastrophe in Europe aggravated Matisse’s neurotic conflicts and that his art reflects his effort to resolve these conflicts through new compromise formations and, more signifi-cantly, sublimation. Sublimation is discussed as it relates not only to the “radical invention ” of Matisse’s wartime art but also to a concurrent transformation of his personality. These ideas about Matisse are applied to clinical vignettes in a consideration of the role of sublimation in a con-temporary view of therapeutic change. A lthough World War I was a time of intense emotional pain for Henri Matisse, it was also a time of welcome transformation, both artistic and personal. The curators of the Museum of Modern Art exhibi-tion “Matisse: Radical Invention 1913–1917 ” postulate a link between these changes and the impact of the war. I will explore this connection from a psychoanalytic perspective by studying Matisse’s wartime art, as well as biographical literature, including the artist’s own insightful reflec-tions. Since major and lasting personal growth accompanied his artistic breakthrough, I will also discuss Matisse’s creative process during the war as a possible source of insight into clinical psychoanalysis. Matisse thought of his creative process as based not on a theory of art or a particular style, but on his instincts: he calls “instinct... the tru