The wealthy Moscow merchants Sergei Shchukin and Ivan Morozov were responsible for bringing a remarkable group of impressionist and postimpressionist French paintings to Russia, among them an exemplary collection of the works of Henri Matisse.Relying on his sensibility and self-confidence, Shchukin confronted a Russian society that ridiculed his eccentricities, and from 1908 to 1914 he assembled an exceptional collection of Matisse's works - thirty-seven paintings - with which he decorated his house in Moscow. Morozov was equally appreciative of the painter and, although a more modest collector, acquired eleven canvases. Between them, these two men made Russia the first foreign country to import Matisse's works.Collecting Matisse provides a fresh interpretation of a crucial period in the artist's career - the early years of Fauvism, when he decisively turned toward color as the essential element of painting - and one that radically marked the development of modern art as a whole. Matisse's work was known in Russia as early as 1904, and Shchukin's commission for the great decorative panels La Danse and La Musique revolutionized the Moscow art world. A penetrating text and previously unpublished archival material make this book an essential study on Matisse and his 1911 visit to Russia, where he discovered with fascination Russian icons, tasted the delights of the salons, and unleashed the commentaries of a hostile press, which are included here in large extracts. The following year, Matisse left for Tangier and there produced a stunning series of canvases, which the two Russian collectors acquired with enthusiasm. The correspondence published here for the first time, bears eloquent testimony to the ties of friendship and admiration that united painter and collectors.The beautiful illustrations and rare period photographs of the Shchukin and Morozov mansions and collections complement the impressions Matisse gathered in the Russian capital and demonstrate their importance for the evolution of his art. Read Less