Henri Matisse (1869 to 1954) was a French artist who is best known for his work as a painter and sculptor in the first half of the 20th century, but he also worked toward the end of his life as an architect.
A new exhibit that opens March 29 at the Baltimore Museum of Art, entitled Matisse in Vence: The Stations of the Cross, tells the story of Matisse’s only architectural project and the art he created for it.
The building Matisse helped design is the Chapel of the Rosary (Chapelle du Rosaire) in Vence, France, a Catholic edifice that remains open today. Matisse dedicated four years of his life to its creation, from 1948 to 1951, and considered it one of his greatest achievements.
The Stations of the Cross is the title of a mural that fills the chapel’s rear wall and took up much of Matisse’s time. But according to the exhibit’s curators, Matisse designed every aspect of the chapel, from its stained glass windows and wrought iron cross on the roof to the altar and the colorful robes worn by the priests.
Matisse collaborated on the chapel’s design with three others: Sister Jacques-Marie, a nun and his former nurse; Brother Bertrand Rayssiguier, an amateur architect and Matisse’s partner; and Father Alain Couturier. Matisse convinced the Sisters of Vence to let him design the chapel and decorate its interior, and he worked on it exclusively starting in 1948.
Journey to Calvary
The Stations of the Cross are a devotional practice in which Christian pilgrims undertake a spiritual journey from where Jesus was condemned to death by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate to his tomb. In the 17th century, churches began to commission representations of the journey, allowing believers to walk the path symbolically.
The Matisse in Vence exhibit focuses primarily on the monumental mural, which depicts Christ’s journey to Calvary, the Biblical site where he was crucified, and the numerous sketches Matisse made for it. While Matisse’s mural of the stations embraces the underlying concept of creating a spiritual journey, it offers a presentation that is radically different from traditional depictions of the 14 Stations of the Cross.
Typically, one scene is depicted per station, so a believer must walk from one to the next in order. Working with Brother Rayssiguier, Matisse decided to bring the stations together in a single image, featuring 14 numbered stations shown on a serpentine path across one large mural. Although the elements of the journey still unfold one by one, they are experienced together rather than in separate images.
The museum exhibit brings together more than 80 drawings that reveal how the mural was conceived and realized – reflecting a radical shift in the artist’s technique and subject matter near the end of his life. Never shown together before, the drawings give visitors a chance to trace how the mural took shape, from the artist’s early sketches to his final vision.
Only U. S. stop
Matisse in Vence was co-organized by the Musée Matisse Nice and the BMA, featuring loans from the Musée Matisse Nice, the Dominican Sisters of Vence and private collections. It was first shown in Nice from Oct. 1, 2025, to Jan. 19, 2026, and will be on view in Baltimore until June 28. This is the first exhibit dedicated to Matisse’s Stations of the Cross mural and its only stop in the United States. Many of the works on display are outside France for the first time.
Yve-Alain Bois, Professor Emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N. J., is the guest curator, with assistance from art historian and researcher Alix Agret. The Baltimore presentation was supported curatorially by Katy Rothkopf, the Anne and Ben Cone Memorial Director of the Ruth R. Marder Center for Matisse Studies and Senior Curator of European Painting and Sculpture. Funding support came from Nancy Dorman and Stanley Mazaroff; The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation and the Estate of Carolyn Lee Smith. An audio guide is made possible with support from the Lilly Endowment.
World’s largest public collection
The BMA is home to the world’s largest public collection of works by Matisse, with more than 1,600 paintings, drawings, prints and illustrated books. The Ruth R. Marder Center for Matisse Studies opened in 2021 at the BMA to improve access to and advance scholarship of the artist’s work. That’s what makes the BMA a fitting venue for the Matisse in Vence exhibit.
Asma Naeem, the BMA’s Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director, noted during a press preview that Matisse in Vence is one of three Matisse-oriented exhibits that will be on view at the same time at the BMA – a first for the museum. The others are Fratino and Matisse: To See This Light Again, on view until Sept. 26, and Matisse and Martinique: Portraits and Poetry, on view until Oct. 25.
Tickets for Matisse in Vence are $10 for adults; $8 for seniors; $7 for groups of seven or more; $5 for students with ID and $5 for youths aged 7 to 18. BMA members children 6 and under, and student groups are admitted free of charge.
Sisters, Vence.
Under-recognized work
Naeem said The Stations of the Cross mural has been a lesser-known and under-studied aspect of Matisse’s career, and the BMA exhibit gives American audiences a rare opportunity to learn about it.
“We are delighted to partner with Yve-Alain Bois and the Musée Matisse Nice to present Matisse in Vence, a compelling exploration of an exceptional Matisse work that honors our shared commitment to advancing new scholarship of the artist and his legacy,” she said in a statement.
“While visitors to the BMA may be familiar with the iconic Matisse paintings in our Cone galleries,” she continued, “I think they will be truly surprised by The Stations of the Cross, which reveal a different and unexpected sensibility that deepens our understanding of this beloved artist. I look forward to sharing this under-recognized chapter in Matisse’s oeuvre with our many audiences.”
