2023-10-13 17:04:32
The Last Flower by Henri Matisse
by Philippe Verdin
Cerf, 224 p., 17 €
Sister Jacques-Marie, alias Monique Bourgeois, incredible destiny, surprising vocation… “A character from a novel”, Aragon will say of her. With an enthusiastic pen, the Dominican brother Philippe Verdin paints a sensitive and warm portrait of the woman who was Matisse’s model, who became a nun, and had a determining influence on the artist at the end of her life. It was for her that Matisse embarked on the creation of the superb chapel of Vence.
Refugee on the Côte d’Azur with her family in 1942, Monique Bourgeois, 21, was hired to keep the painter company and take care of: “An indestructible bond was woven between the patient and his nurse,” she will admit later. An intellectual bond is formed, and also a certain affection: “You are like my grandfather. I didn’t know him, but I consider him that way.” she confides to Matisse.
Bedridden is for Matisse the period of large formats and cut-out papers. In his eyes, there is no greater vocation than art. And now Monique announces her entry into the convent: “You are going to waste your life, please think carefully!” » A jealous reaction in part: ” I need you. You inspire me! You’re going to cut off my creative momentum! » The discussions continue: “You live your spiritual life in the light and me? I only live for the light”, he writes.
Finally, this crazy bet of a chapel, which Matisse will design in detail, even designing the furniture and liturgical vestments. Open to the outside, bathed in light, the chapel is like the apotheosis of this friendship. A great work left as a legacy: “We will have a chapel where everyone can hope. »
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