If it weren't for his sometimes-friend, most-of-the-time-rival Picasso, Henri Matisse would likely be the most widely recognized artist of the 20th Century. (Okay, maybe Andy Warhol?) So his museum exhibits are automatically "blockbusters", by the very reason of what an adoring public he still enjoys, more than 70 years after his passing.

And so the intriguingly titled 'Matisse's Jazz: Rhythms in Color' opened March 7 to great anticipation at The Art Institute of Chicago - especially as it focuses on the latter years of his career, and his incredible "cut outs". He actually created those now iconic works out of necessity, as a way to keep making art after a cancer diagnosis left him confined to a wheelchair or bed bound, and suffering significant, chronic pain. In fact, it is said that the therapeutic nature of creation during this period brought him great happiness and contentment, when he might have otherwise wallowed in despair and self-pity.

The exhibit gathers more than fifty works by Matisse from the venerable American museum's breathtaking collection; and most captivating is the 'Jazz' series, a boldly colorful collection of 20 cut-paper collages, which were gathered together in a book, first published in 1947 under that same title.

Another poignant testament to the power of art, the 'Jazz' series was actually created against the backdrop of the horrors of WWII, with France suffering under a four-year occupation by Nazi Germany. Paris was at last liberated on August 25, 1944.

"A picture must possess a real power to generate light," Matisse famously said, and similarly observed, "There are always flowers for those who want to see them."

The image of 'Icarus' from the series has become arguably Matisse's signature visual, with the mythological character surrounded by stars, and his heart a beam of red light. And though his downfall is a now legendary story of tragedy, as a result of an outsized desire, Matisse infuses the work with a distinct feeling of the ecstatic.

“For Matisse, 'Jazz' was unlike anything that came before it," observes Emily Ziemba, the museum's director of curatorial administration and research curator, Prints and Drawings. "The syncopation of his vibrantly colored abstractions and his incredibly personal text offers a glimpse into the artist’s evolution, and a peek at an artist at his most self-reflective and vulnerable."

Of course, it's no secret that this period - 1941-1954 - has inspired countless art class lessons and projects, as the "cut out" technique is uniquely accessible for kids trying to develop rudimentary art skills. Yet it is Matisse's fearless use of bold, contrasting colors that is perhaps most revealing, as he was expressing through those colors the joy that had always marked his art making - only made more visceral by the overcoming of his crippling disability. It is a hopeful message for young people to connect with, especially during these times when technology is resulting in so much youthful anxiety and self-recrimination.

“The juxtaposition between the bright, whimsical images and the darker subtext they mask is a revelation," observes Ziemba of the 'Jazz' series, "and I think it [continues to] resonate."

(For parents wishing to undertake Matisse-inspired art projects at home with their kids, The National Gallery of Art - in Washington, DC - created this engaging four-minute video focused on the artist's cut-out technique, which of course inspired the 'Jazz' series.)

Below images, from top to bottom: Henri Matisse, 'The Knife Thrower'; 'Circus'; 'Pierrot's Funeral', all 1947. All images courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago.