An early form of stencil print, pochoir was an ideal choice for reproducing Matisse’s twenty cut-outs called Jazz, depicting circus scenes, folklore subjects, life in Parisian music halls, and the artist’s own travel experiences.

It was in the early 1940s, when he was confined to his bed for most of the day, that Matisse began to pursue the cut-out as an art form. His assistants painted opaque watercolor onto white sheets of paper, which Matisse in turn cut into a variety of shapes, often retaining both the primary form (the “positive”) and the cut-away piece (the “negative”), arranging them in vibrant juxtapositions. He pinned and re-pinned the pieces to the wall of his studio until he was finally satisfied with the overall harmony of the composition.

The two principal themes to be found in Jazz are the noise and excitement of the circus (the series was originally named Le Cirque, but Matisse changed it before publication) and the syncopated rhythms of popular jazz music. In The Horse, the Rider, and the Clown the horse is the only distinct figure; the equestrienne is implied by her fan-shaped skirt, overlapping the horse’s flank, and the clown by his vibrant costume in green, black, and yellow.