Henri Matisse
In the Mind of Great Artists
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“I do not literally paint the table but the emotion it produces upon me.”
Henri Matisse
Matisse is one of the first great painters of the avant-garde movements. His thoughts help us understand the thoughts of the protagonists of the beginning of modernity.
With this phrase, the greatest representative of Fauvism revealed something crucial: art changed forever, artists no longer reproduced the exterior whorl but expressed it through their emotions. They interpreted and showed us their inner universe. There was no motivation in painting things as they really were.
“Painters do not need to worry about rendering insignificant details as photography renders them better and more quickly.” Matisse said.
With modernity, it did not matter how things were but how they were felt
Color was the most powerful resource to express what artists felt, their subjectivity. It did not have a describing function —to “inform” what color things were— it became a means of intimate expression. Henri Matisse is the great master of color of the 20th century, that is to say, of modernity.
Artists need to express and spontaneity is crucial for that. And it implies getting carried away with emotions, ignoring perfect forms, right perspective or correct lightning.
In this painting Matisse simplifies the image and gives it an overwhelming strength with color, giving more life to the figures and the scene than if he had copied reality.”
He said: “Suppose I want to paint a woman’s body: first of all I imbue it with grace and charm, but I know that I must give something more. I will condense the meaning of this body by seeking its essential lines. The charm will be less apparent at first glance, but it must eventually emerge from the new image which will have a broader meaning, one more fully human.”
Image: La Musique (1939)
Recommended links:
Timeline: Moments of Henri Matisse.
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