Henri Matisse has just “fallen into the public domain” since January 1, with what consequences?

Every year, thousands of works fall into the public domain, allowing their free reproduction. That of Henri Matisse has just entered this new market since January 1: that of the marketing of works in the public domain. This new status makes it the property of humanity, giving free rein to its commercialization and reproduction by all.

Since January 1, Matisse’s heirs have only moral rights left, that is to say, the power to act in the event of an attack on the integrity of Matisse’s work. They are not the only ones. This is also the case this year for the heirs of Colette or Frida Kahlo because in France and in the countries of the European Union copyright only protects the entire work of an artist up to 70 years after his disappearance.

The duration, although it varies depending on the region of the world, has been designed so that only two generations can benefit from the financial benefits of a work.

As a result, from the beginning of January, hundreds of posters and paintings by the painter were added to an art printing site and a puzzle made up of around twenty of his paintings was put up for sale on a other.

These art derivative products, in the same way as any goodies flocked with paintings, also allow shops, when leaving museums, to make a margin of 60% on average without having to pay copyright. The rate is subject to market laws (the law only requires the payment of rights without specifying the amount) and, concerning Matisse, no one knows what rate will be applied, because the family manages the estate alone and in the greatest secrecy. the illustrious ancestor.

This family, anxious to make Matisse’s heritage grow, 8 years ago, in anticipation of his work entering the public domain, registered his name as a brand whose longevity is much greater.

It is enough to renew it every decade. The sudden cessation of money inflows is stopped in its tracks even if this deposit brings less income to the heirs. The name of the great painter has already been sold by the family trust to Guerlain in order to create, in partnership, a perfume.

Also read > The Rosary Chapel in Vence, a masterpiece by Henri Matisse, classified as a national heritage site

In Nice, we wonder since for 37 years, Henri Matisse maintained a love affair with the Côte d’Azur.

In 2023, the Henri Matisse National Museum celebrated its 60th anniversary and its shop is waiting to be able to sell various objects reproducing works by the artist. However, it will not be able to do anything since the freedom offered by the public domain is framed by moral rights, the protection of which is perpetual, inalienable and imprescriptible.

This implies that anyone who uses a work must mention the name of the artist and respect the essence of their production. No modification likely to distort it, such as cropping, colorization or pixelation without the agreement of descendants or rights holders.

Those of Henri Matisse, particularly scrupulous, are keen to verify that the image faithfully reproduces the colors of the original work.

The artist was 48 years old when he discovered Nice and its light, the reflections of the deep blue and the richness of the colors.

We are in 1917 and the emotion that this change arouses gives rise to an unparalleled passion. Coming there to treat a nasty case of bronchitis, the artist remained there for the rest of his life.

When I realized that every morning I would see this light again, I couldn’t believe my happiness. I decided not to leave Nice, and I stayed there practically all my life.

Henri Matisse began his first stay in the South at the Beau Rivage hotel, facing the sea, in December 1917. From his narrow room, he painted his first “Nice interiors”. In the spring of 1918, he rented an apartment at 105 Quai desUnis to make a workshop, but barely three years later, he moved to the 3rd floor of a more spacious place at the back of Cours Saleya at 1 place Charles Felix, before leaving him to settle on 4th floor floor. Benefiting from a balcony overlooking the sea, he painted still lifes, interiors, nudes and Odalisques characterizing his “ Nice period ».

The painter, who practiced rowing assiduously, joined the city’s Nautical Club in the port district in 1927.

In 1938, he bought a huge apartment in the residential area of ​​Cimiez. This former hotel built to accommodate the Queen of England Regina at the end of the 19^e century will be his final resting place. There, on the high walls, he will display his large compositions in cut-out gouache paper. He also made those which decorate, in Vence, the Dominican chapel

In 1943, faced with the threat of German occupation, the artist left Nice and settled in Vence. He did not return to Regina until 1948 and, five years later, offered the city several of his creations with a view to establishing a museum entirely devoted to his life and works.

In November 1954, 70 years ago, Henri Matisse died at home on a dark day on November 3.

He will be buried not far from the painter Raoul Dufy who died a year earlier, in the cemetery of the Cimiez Monastery.