10 most famous paintings by Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was a draftsman, sculptor, but best known as a painter. In his works, he was interested in color – focusing on it, he conveyed emotions through it. Henri Matisse came to art late: at first he received the profession of a lawyer, and after returning from Paris, he got a job in a law firm. However, he did not work there for a long time: at the age of 20, Matisse had an aggravated appendicitis, because of which he was isolated from the world for 2 months (he was in the hospital). In order to somehow revive his son, his mother brought him paper and paints, from that moment Henri Matisse began to gravitate towards drawing, and soon he entered an art school.

The work of Henri Matisse, along with the work of Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) and Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), provided the basis for the emergence of modern art. For those interested in the work of Matisse, we offer you to get acquainted with his 10 most famous and outstanding paintings.

10 Vid Kolliur (1905)

Canvas «Kind of Kolliur” is usually attributed to 1905, when Matisse worked on the Mediterranean coast. The color of the southern nature is very well conveyed in the picture, which the artist skillfully demonstrates with paints. Colored shadows were not needed in the work – the effect of sunlight occurs due to orange, red, crimson and lilac-pink spots.

We see these colors everywhere: on the church, on the earth “baked” by the sun, on the walls of houses. When the painting by Matisse was exhibited in 1905 at the Salon d’Automne, the audience was shocked by what they saw. Previously, they had not seen such audacity of open color, the impulsiveness with which the artist worked, the simplification of techniques.

Interesting fact: the critic Vauxcelles called the works of Matisse “fauvists”, which means “wild” in translation. Thus, the name “Fauvism” was assigned to one of the trends in the art of the 1905th century. The direction did not last long – from 1907 to XNUMX.

9. The Joy of Life (1905-1906)

«The joy of life” at one time was met by the audience very violently, noisily. There were no indifferent to her: some averted their eyes, others were content with a riot of colors. Too bold and bright picture of Matisse has become a new event in the world of fine arts. The artist began working on it in France, where he organized a cozy workshop in a monastery.

In the plot of the picture – naked figures, basking in nature. All of them are evenly distributed on the canvas, it is worth taking a few steps back from it, as it comes to understanding how harmoniously the picture is composed, although Matisse did not welcome the laws of perspective. The artist himself affectionately named the painting “My Arcadia”, implying his view of the utopian idea of ​​absolute harmony between man and nature.

8. Crockery and fruit on a red and black handkerchief (1906)

The work was created in 1906 in Collioure, as evidenced by the purro – the Spanish wine vessel that we see on the artist’s canvas. The author worked on the painting in the summer. In the spring of 1906, Matisse traveled to North Africa, from where, in addition to impressions, he also brought ceramics and oriental fabrics. These elements began to appear repeatedly in the artist’s canvases.

The red and black carpet, which was previously mistakenly called a handkerchief, also appeared in other works by Matisse: The Red Carpet and Still Life with a Plaster Statuette. A bright rug occupies almost the entire canvas, being a decoration for dishes and fruits. Only the glass vessel shows its independence.

7. Artist’s Workshop (1911)

Thanks to the orders and purchases of Sergei Ivanovich Shchukin (1854-1936), already in 1909 Henri Matisse was able to become the full owner of the house in Issy-les-Moulineaux above Paris, where the work “Artist’s workshop“. The historian, studying the work of Matisse, called the painting “a symphonic interior”.

In addition to the “Artist’s Studio” (or in other words, the “Pink Workshop”), Henri Matisse’s suite included the works “Family Portrait”, “Interior with Eggplants”, “Red Workshop”. All works are similar to the culture of the East and flashy decoration. The leading role in Matisse’s canvas is given to pink – it occupies almost the entire space of the interior.

6. Luxury, Peace and Delight (1904)

Surprisingly, Matisse treated future viewers with care. His painting “Luxury, peace and pleasure” as if urging the viewer to stop, relax and enjoy what they see. The picture belongs to the period when Matisse was still looking for himself, however, he already wanted to give consolation through his canvases. However, in life, the character of the artist could hardly be called cute, especially if the work did not go as planned. But he saw the purpose of art to please the audience. The canvas was written in the spirit of pointillism, and it was acquired by Paul Signac (1863-1935), who became the founder of the direction. The painting depicts bathers popular in artistic circles of that time.

Interesting fact: the picture is drawn by applying multi-colored dots. Due to the technique used, it seems that the picture vibrates, like a desert mirage in front of us, which delights the eyes of the viewer.

5. Reclining nude against a purple background (1936)

Henri Matisse often painted nude women against one background or another. In this canvas, the artist used 3 colors: green, purple and black, with the exception of the colors “scratched” on the black wall. Despite the small size of the picture, the female figure looks very voluminous.

Henri Matisse once said: “You need to be able to convey the impression of a larger one even in a small picture, since our pupil sees life-size.” “Lying nude on a purple backgroundwas written in Paris in 1936. Now this painting is in the possession of the Moscow Museum.

4. Sadness of the King (1952)

In Russian sources, the picture has a slightly different name “The Sad King”, but this does not change it. To create a canvasKing’s sadness» Matisse cut out pieces of paper, and his assistants gave them a more noble look by painting with gouache. Then he gave these pieces the necessary shapes, which served as a plot for the picture.

Henri Matisse always talked about the need for emotions through simple means. One of these means for the artist was the color, and the other – the form. The Matisse painting is reminiscent of the childlike simplicity with which children draw figures. Matisse, in order for his painting to be the best of the best, did not even need a brush.

3. Dance (1910)

Matisse believed that understanding painting does not require a special education or an appropriate outlook. His paintings emphasize simple forms. In his opinion, looking at the picture, the viewer should experience peace and relaxation. Painting “Dance”was written from the artist’s impressions of national dances.

One Sunday afternoon, the artist went to the Moulin de la Gallette. “I just watched how they dance. I especially liked the farandole (round dance). By the way, the artist often depicted round dances on his canvases. Returning home, Matisse repeated the dance he had seen in a 4-meter-long painting.

2. Red Fishes (1912)

Reducing space to the limit, Henri Matisse depicts on canvas a round table with fish in an aquarium. It seems that the fish are moving, swimming one after another. The plants look vibrant too. The background for the picture is the garden, and the central role goes to the table and the fish. The reflection of the fish in the water was easy to depict with blurry spots. The table is depicted in the picture as if the artist were drawing it from above, but the leg attached to it at the same time creates the feeling that the drawing took place from the side. The picture is dominated by a round figure, which sets the canvas a certain rhythm and causes peace.

1. Woman with a Hat (1905)

From this picture, the name of Henri Matisse became recognizable. “Woman with hat“- his first work related to Fauvism. The painting was exhibited in 1905 at the Salon d’Automne, and outraged Salon President Francis Jourdain (1876-1958), who said: “I am, of course, a progressive person, but you need to know the measure.”

He insisted that the painting be rejected, nevertheless it entered the museum’s exposition. Jourdain believed that Matisse was “too modern”, to put it simply – ahead of his time. The public at first could not understand Matisse – he painted a lady in wild colors with asymmetrical features, which did not betray a real person in her.