CHAPEL OF THE ROSARY (1947-51), A MASTERPIECE BY HENRI MATISSE AS A CROSS-CULTURAL PHENOMENON IN 20TH-CENTURE ART

The article studies the final work of Henri Matisse, an outstanding French artist of the 20th century, - the ensemble of the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence (1947-1951). The methodology used in the work: philosophical and historical-cultural approach, artistic-figurative analysis. The scientificnovelty of the work lies in the formulation and solution of the main task: to form a comprehensive, multifaceted, and at the same time holistic, view of the Chapel of the Rosary, to consider it not only as an artistic object that adequately refracts the alternative side of its creator’s talent, but also to consider it as a phenomenon that arose at the intersection of several significant cultural processes (avant-garde, fauvism, the search for new forms of morall values in the period after the Second World War, renovation of sacred issues in the philosophy and art of the 20th century).On the one hand, the chapel represents the result of Henri Matisse's creative path. One of the acknowledged fathers of the European avant-garde reveals here the various facets of his talent as a graphic artist, painter, and virtuoso decorator, combining them in a unique, harmonious, comprehensive solution in its integrity. On the other hand, the possibility of building the Chapel of the Rosary largely determined the process of renewal of sacred art in the 20th century. Father Marie-Alain Couturier (1897-1954) plays a special role here. During the period of interaction between sacred and modern art, the encyclical Mediator Dei of Pope Pius XII and the concept of the philosopher Jacques Maritain (1882-1973), discussed in the article, are also significant. As a result, the Chapel of the Rosary represents an example of harmonious interaction between the fields of religious and contemporary art. It reflects profound changes in the spiritual sphere, including the discovery of the originative possibilities of the avant-garde and the manifestation of religious art, its activation through the involvement of modern masters, who significantly expanded the field of its expressive possibilities. Matisse's signature style does not weaken the spiritual tone of the Chapel of the Rosary, but on the contrary, enhances and sharpens it, allowing the artist to achieve nobility of lines, expression and monumentality of images.