Matisse at the Met

While visiting NYC a couple of weeks ago I had the great pleasure of viewing the Matisse exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum during the member’s preview. The exhibit spanned his career  and included paintings in pairs, trios and series. Matisse (1869-1954) was continually trying, as he put it,  “to push further and deeper into true painting”.  Along with my friend and fellow artist Page, we explored the exhibit, Matisse: In Search of True Painting.

As we journeyed through the exhibit, we learned  that Matisse was always questioning his artistic ability, his techniques and methods. He worked to show that painting is hard and academic and is work.

Here  are some of my favorite pieces from the show which runs through March 17, 2013.

Interior with Goldfish, 1914

I was surprised to see interior paintings, I know Matisse most for his still life and nude paintings. You can imagine my thrill when I saw his interiors, which are all unique. This one appealed to me because it looks very contemporary, don’t you think? I believe I see an under-painting of red/orange which peeks through ~ a technique I like to use when I work in oils. The 2 goldfish are the only animated creatures in the silent room, hmmm….

 The Large Blue Dress, 1937

This installation included 10 paintings that evolved over 10 days to produce the final piece. It was so interesting to see the progression and how it affected the final product. The sense of depth became lost, the posture of the model became more rigid and the overall background became more graphic. When I studied the wall with all 10 painting studies I found I preferred the initial ones.

 Interior with an Egyptian Curtain, 1948

Matisse traveled to Egypt during his life and in 1949 he painted this vibrant and energetic painting, full of confidence. In person the colors are quite strong and jump off the canvas. On the right is a piece of fabric he brought home from Egypt years before. The light in this picture draws you to the window and my friend Page loved the strong shadow under the plate of fruit. What do you like?

Le Luxe II, 1907-1908

This painting measures 82” x 54” and is the third in the series. This series was dramatic and included a charcoal sketch and another painting the same size, although the compositions vary. If you look closely, this composition reveals a grid.  Matisse used a grid to exactly re-create the sketch  he was satisfied with  before painting. This piece struck me as  modern and very graphic. I later learned that he painted this with a thin, water-soluble distemper which has the same effect as the material found in frescoes. Like so many of the artists from this time, Matisse was influenced by his travels and his contemporaries. In 1907, he traveled to Padua in Northern Italy to see Giotto’s frescoes.

{all images via the Metropolitan Museum of Art website}

As you can probably tell,  I was enthralled with this exhibit and just can’t help but spread the word.  So much so in fact,  that our Girls Just Wanna Paint group  has chosen as the January challenge “Paint like Matisse”.  The post with our Matisse influenced paintings will go live  at midnight on January 1, 2013.  So right after you kiss that someone special check out our post and start your New Year with ART!

  “I have always tried to hide my efforts and wished my works to have the light joyousness of springtime which never lets anyone suspect the labors it has cost me.”

~Henri Matisse

xo,

Pamela

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