Henri Matisse
For Educational Purposes Only Revised 08/12
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Matisse's Use of Color and Shape in His Later Works, Schemes and Mind Maps of Dance
Matisse's innovative use of color and shape in his later works, including his collages and paper cutouts. specific paintings, such as 'Woman with a Hat' and 'Blue Nude IV', and explains how Matisse's bold use of complementary colors and repetition of shapes contributed to the unity and vitality of his art. The document also touches upon Matisse's experimentation with fauvism and his time spent in Morocco.
Typology: Schemes and Mind Maps
2021/2022
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The Presentation
1. Photo of Matisse Working on Paper Cutouts, Age 83 1484, silverpoint, 11” x 7-3/4”, Albertina Museum, Vienna This photo was taken shortly before Matisseʼs death. Although surgery for intestinal cancer at age 72 left him mostly confined to a wheelchair, Matisseʼs desire to create did not diminish as he dealt with the complications of age and illness. He is seen here working on pieces of cut-out paper that became his medium when he could no longer stand to paint. An assistant painted the paper with opaque watercolor (or gouache, pronounced “gwash”), and Matisse cut out shapes that the assistant helped to arrange and then glue onto large pieces of white paper. (You can see his assistant sitting next to him at the left edge of the photograph.) The collages (pasted down assemblages of cut paper) that Matisse created in the last years of his life were masterpieces of shape and bold color. 2. Woman with the Hat 1905, oil on canvas, 31-3/4” x 23-1/2”, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California In 1905, Matisse and his colleagues, including André Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck, and Albert Marquet, were experimenting with the expressive potential of color, and they all submitted paintings to the autumn Salon in Paris. Their paintings were not well received, and were considered “orgies of pure colors,” according to a jeering public, who considered the paintings primitive, brutal, and violent. The artists themselves were dubbed fauves (“wild beasts”), and the room in which the paintings were exhibited became le cage (“the cage”). The term fauve , actually coined by a generally sympathetic critic, has stuck. It has become the term describing a style that, while short-lived, was the first avant-garde wave of the twentieth century. The jeering audiences at the Salon got an early look at what the new century would bring; artists would continue to use color in totally non-conventional ways. This painting, one of Matisseʼs contributions to the Salon exhibit, is a portrait of Madame Matisse. She is shown in a pose that was typical of formal bourgeois portraits of the day, but this is not a typical portrait. Large areas of bright color render her features, dress and hat with little regard for subtle details. All the shapes have been simplified by solid areas of paint applied with broad strokes. Matisseʼs use of complementary color combinations gives energy to this painting. He uses the color green to shade his wifeʼs face along her nose and above her mouth, and then paints her upper lip a bright red, creating a complementary color contrast (also known as simultaneous contrast) that gives emphasis to her face. Another such contrast is seen in the purple used in her hat and dress surrounded by the yellow color he used through her face and in the background. The repetition of these colors also creates a rhythm that moves our eyes around the painting, and it also gives the painting a cohesive quality to create unity. Where do you see complementary color contrast?
4. SCANNING: Red Room (Harmony in Red) 1908, oil on canvas, 70- 7 /8” x 86-5/8”, Hermitage Museum St. Petersburg, Russia During a visit to North Africa, Matisse noticed that the intense sunlight seemed to flatten images and eliminate any sense of depth. Nowhere is this more vividly demonstrated than in this painting. Here we see only flat shapes in an interior scene of intense color. The wine carafes, the fruits and plates on the table, and even the features of the servant to the right are nothing more than simplified flat shapes of bright color. The color red both dominates this painting and contributes to its unity. The warm red repeats on the wall and the tablecloth, with their cool blue decorative pattern. This pattern of warm and cool color contrast (temperature contrast) commands over three quarters of the painting, seeming to create one large continuous surface. Only the objects on the table and the position of the chair behind it communicate the shape and position of the table. The only other interruption to the red color is the window in the top left corner of the painting, with its open view of the green countryside beyond. This creates a complementary color contrast (simultaneous contrast) that gives the painting its energy. Additional complementary color contrasts occur where orange appears next to blue, such as the maidʼs hair next to the blue curving lines on the wall and the oranges next to the blue pattern on the tablecloth. Fun fact: This painting was originally painted with green tones and was called “Harmony in Green.” It was transformed into a “Harmony in Blue” and was publicly exhibited and sold to Sergei Shchukin, a Russian textile importer. A year later, Matisse convinced Shchukin to let him transform it once again, this time into “Harmony in Red.” The fact that Matisse painted over a predominantly blue background rather than on a fresh white canvas very likely influenced his choice of this particular red. What is the main element that gives this painting its unity?
Scanning Questions
Red Room (Harmony in Red) 1908, oil on canvas, 70-7/8” x 86-5/8” Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia Art Elements: What you see. Color
- Is the color scheme predominately warm or cool? (Warm.)
- Where do you see complementary color contrast? (The green outside the window next to the red walls of the interior; the blue arabesque pattern next to the orange fruit, chair seat, and womanʼs hair.) Shape
- What geometric shapes do you see? (Round fruits, rectangular window, the house in the distance, the chairs.)
- Describe the organic shapes you see. (Trees, long curving shapes of the blue pattern, the servant, the flowers.) Art Principles: How the elements are arranged. Unity
- What is the single most unifying element in this painting? (The color red.)
- What else contributes to the unity? (The repetition of the blue pattern in the walls and tablecloth; repetition of yellow color in the fruits and flowers on the table and the flowers outside the window.) Repetition/Rhythm
- Where do you see shape repetition? (The repeating blue lines on the walls and tablecloth and in the trees, the repeated shapes of the fruits on the table, the slats on the chair backs.)
- Which repetition is regular and which is irregular? (The blue pattern creates a regular rhythm and the fruit shapes create an irregular rhythm.) Technical Properties: How it was made.
- Do you think this painting is large or small? (Large, approximately 6 feet by 7 feet.)
- Can you find where the tablecloth ends and the wall begins? (A faint dark horizontal line marks the spot.) Expressive Properties: How it makes you feel.
- Would you like a room like this in your house?
- Would you feel the same about this painting if the walls and table cloth were painted different colors?
7. The Pink Studio 1911, oil on canvas, 70-3/8” x 87”, Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia This painting of Matisseʼs studio reflects his interests and his passion. His passion was his art, and several of his artworks, including sculptures, were included in this scene. He was also intrigued by the patterns in Islamic art and oriental rugs, which are also represented here. This room would have looked different if painted by any other artist. It was Matisseʼs unique use of color and pattern that draws our attention to the objects in his workspace. The viewer enters this painting on the diagonal line of the yellow carpet in the left foreground, and is visually moved in a clockwise motion around the painting by the placement of similar yellow color. The pink walls and red floor continue across the entire width of the painting, lending unity to the work. Shape contrasts also repeat in this composition. Geometric shapes (the oriental rug, the folding screen and the dark blue fabric draped over it, the canvases on the left side and right sides of the screen) are decorated with bright organic shapes. Even the window behind the screen shows a suggestion of the organic shapes outside. 8. The Goldfish 1911, oil on canvas, 57-7/8” x 38-5/8”, Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia Because the images in this painting are seen from such a close vantage point, Matisseʼs shapes are more representational here. We can clearly identify the plants that surround the goldfish. However, Matisse still was unconcerned by perspective, and we almost expect the glass container of water and fish to slide off the table or for the table to collapse on top of its tiny legs. What is particularly striking about this painting is the complementary color contrast of the reddish fish surrounded by the green plants (simultaneous contrast). The positive shapes of the fish rest against the negative shape of reflected green to create an energy that almost suggests their movement in the water. Their warm color also advances towards the viewer, making them the focus of the painting. Shape contrasts are also evident. Organic shapes surround the geometric shapes of the glass jar and round table top. Their repetition around the central focal point helps contribute to the unity of the painting. Describe how Matisse used shape contrast in this painting. Find an organic shape and a geometric shape that repeat in this painting.
9. Zorah on the Terrace 1913, oil on canvas, 45-1/2” x 38-1/8”, Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia From 1912 to 1913, Matisse spent time in Morocco, and the images and colors of the Moroccan landscape were reflected in his paintings. His paintings of North Africa were simple compositions with limited color schemes. He painted this work on a rooftop terrace under intense mid-day light. In this painting, Matisse has created a sense of space and tranquility. He simplifies his shapes without regard for three dimensions. He limits his color scheme to primarily cool blues, which helps to emphasize the warm tones of Zorahʼs face, her slippers and the goldfish through complementary color contrast (simultaneous contrast). Shape contrast also adds interest: Zorahʼs organic shape sits upon a geometric shape; the organically shaped robe she wears is covered with geometric patterns; in front of her, goldfish, more organic shapes, swim in a round vessel. This repetition of shape contrast adds interest to the painting. There is also repetition of shapes; note how the shape of her slippers repeats the shape of the goldfish. This, in addition to the cool blue used throughout the background and through Zorahʼs robe, helps to unify the composition. Fun Fact: Matisse used the motif of the goldfish in many of his paintings. They were one of his favorite subjects, and he included a vessel of goldfish in many of his interior scenes. They were used as symbols in Oriental culture, which Matisse adored. 10. Interior at Nice (Interior with Phonograph) 1924, oil on canvas, 39-3/4” x 32”, Private collection The composition in this painting repeats the motif Matisse used many times: a view through a window. However, unlike the view in “ The Open Window, Collioure” (slide #3), here the vantage point is from deep within the room. What catches our attention is the repetition of color, pattern and shape within the room itself. Matisse has chosen a predominately warm color scheme for this painting. Warm reds are repeated throughout the scene: in the design of the tapestry drape across the doorway; in the stripes of the tablecloth; in the pattern of the pineappleʼs rind and the fruits on the table; on the side of the phonograph (on the right side of the painting); and in the carpet and on the mirrorʼs frame in the room beyond. This repetition of color contributes to the unity of the painting. Complementary color contrasts (simultaneous contrasts) also give vitality to this static view. Orange and blue appear together along the wall on the left side of the painting, and red fruits rest on a green tray in the middle of the red striped tablecloth. Although the shapes are simplified and flat, Matisse has created the illusion of depth in this painting. The warm colors in the room seem to advance toward the viewer, while the cool blues of the wall and of the sky through the window seem to recede, contributing to the sense of depth. Fun Fact: Matisse first visited Nice, on the French Riviera, in 1916. Although his travels took him around Europe, he always returned to Nice and eventually made it his permanent home. How does color unify this painting? Which part of the painting seems to recede from the viewer?
13. Icarus (from “Jazz”) 1947, paper pochoir, 16-1/2” x 10-1/2”, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York While recuperating from two major operations in 1941 and 1942, Matisse concentrated on a technique he had devised earlier: papiers découpés (paper cutouts). He was no longer able to stand for long periods of time, so cut paper became his medium, and it provided him with a new and exciting form of expression. In 1947, he published a book entitled “ Jazz ,” which was a collection of 20 paper cut-out images; these images were accompanied by text containing his memories and thoughts on painting. In this image from “ Jazz ,” the mythological figure Icarus (a boy who was given wax wings, but flew too close to the sun and fell back to earth) is presented as a positive shape floating against the negative shape of the royal blue sky. His organic shape commands almost the entire space. The viewer identifies the red dot as his heart. Its color is emphasized against the black body. We recognize the spiky yellow shapes as repeated suns, but like the shape of the heart, Matisse chose not to use the easily recognized shapes that we readily associate with these items. That he created new shapes is a testament to the simplicity of his artistry. He repeats the yellow suns at uneven intervals, creating an irregular rhythm that moves the viewerʼs eye through the composition. Their repetition contributes to its unity. Fun Fact: Although Matisseʼs illustrations for the book were collages of cut and pasted colored papers, the images were hand-colored through a series of carefully cut out stencils to reproduce them for publication. In fact, in the description of the artwork, the medium is listed as pochoir , which is French for stencil. 14. Trapeze Performers (from “Jazz”) 1947, paper pochoir, 16-5/8” x 25-3/4”, location unknown In another image from “ Jazz ,” Matisse has created an image of trapeze performers entirely from cut out shapes of colored paper. The performers themselves are simplified yellow shapes positioned between the two swings; their bright color stands out against a rectangular green background. Smaller red squiggle shapes rest to the left and right of the scene. Do they perhaps symbolize the audience? The net below the performers is created by the repetition of black geometric shapes; actually, it is the negative shape behind the black squares that represents the net. You might not understand this collage if you didnʼt know the title, but once known, the energy and excitement of the performers is evident. Where do you see positive shapes? Where are the positive and negative shapes in the net?
15. Blue Nude IV 1952, gouache on paper, cut and pasted, and charcoal on white paper, 40 - 1/2” x 29- 1 /8”, Musée Matisse, Nice-Cimiez, France This composition is one of a series of cut-out “nudes” that Matisse created over the course of one year shortly before his death. In these paper compositions, he achieved a purity of expression with only one color and the simplest of shapes. Matisse said, “Cutting straight into color reminds me of what a sculptor does to his stone,” and these compositions possess a definite sculptural quality. The figure of the nude has been created as a collage of many pieces of paper; you can see places where several pieces have been overlapped to create the desired shape. Matisse has left many of the pieces unconnected on the paper, allowing us to make the connection of the entire human shape for ourselves, and the result is a positive organic blue shape upon a white negative background shape. Curved shapes are repeated in all parts of the collage, and the overall shape of the woman is created as we visually jump over the gaps of white background (shape continuation). The dominant blue figure is arranged to completely fill the entire 40 x 29 inch background; this contributes to the unity of the work. Matisseʼs genius found its most creative expression in this simplest of mediums, cut paper. How did Matisse unify this work?