In 1930, turning 60, Henri Matisse found himself uninspired. He decided to set sail for Tahiti, where he hoped “the enchantments of the sky” would catapult him into “total ecstasy.” Unlike his peer Gauguin, Matisse didn’t really paint anything of note during his 10-week sojourn in Polynesia. Instead, he discarded his brushes and documented the scene with drawings. The journey did, however, mark the beginning of a monumental decade for the artist, one that saw Large Reclining Nude, The Song, and the 1938 series “Romanian Blouses.” There was also Matisse’s notable collaboration with the avant-garde magazine Cahiers d’art, which broke ground in two special issues, the first in 1931 and the second in 1936. This exhibition focuses on Matisse’s output from this important period. —E.C.