The Dessert: Harmony in Red, 1908 by Henri Matisse
アンリ・マティス（1869-1954）は、フランスで最も独創的で愛される芸術家の一人であり、彼のカラフルで明るい絵は、生命、喜び、感受性を肯定します。この本はマティスの作品を、初期作品から晩年の代表作まで、彼のライフストーリーとともに再現し、寝たきりで絵を描けなかった時に作った切り絵も紹介しています。マルクス・ミュラーは、これまで入手できなかったアーカイブ資料をもとに、マティスのキャリアをたどり、彼の作品が色彩を多用し、抽象画に近い切り絵へと移行していったことを明らかにしています。新たな創造への探求を止めなかった偉大な芸術家を称えるものであり、マティスの天才を知るための完璧な入門書といえるでしょう。今日は、"デザート：赤のハーモニー、1908年 "の作品を取り上げていきましょう。(English) Henri Matisse (1869-1954) is one of France's most original and beloved artists; his colourful, luminous paintings affirm life, joy and sensitivity. This book reproduces many of Matisse's works alongside his life story, from his early paintings to his late masterpieces, the cut-outs he made when he was confined to his bed and unable to paint. Drawing on previously unavailable archival material, Markus Müller traces the development of Matisse's career, showing how his work moved towards colour-intensive, near-abstract cut-outs. A celebration of a great artist who never stopped searching for new ways to create, this book is the perfect introduction to Matisse's genius. Today, I picked up the article "The Dessert: Harmony in Red, 1908."
A) Henri Matisse by Markus Muller - Dessert: Harmony in Red
Dessert: Harmony in Red is an ambitious large-scale painting Matisse exhibited at the Paris Autumn Salon in 1908. As an old photograph shows, the colour scheme underwent a fundamental change, with Matisse initially painting the composition in blue-green tones. The work refers to The Luncheon Table in both subject and motif. But with a radically new aesthetic approach. At the same time, that painting focused on the fleeting sensory impression, the 'sensation' of the Impressionists. Here, the large-scale floral patterns of the tablecloth and wallpaper dominate. In this beautiful symphonic harmony of colour, the decorative principle finds its first echo in Matisse's work.
At Christmas 1908, Matisse produced his first art theory text, Notes of a Painter, to be followed by many others. The Italian artist Gino Severini remarked that a painter rarely wrote so clearly and precisely about his pictorial ideas. In this text, Matisse published for the first time some of the thoughts that would determine his future work. For example, he wanted to abandon the Impressionist aesthetic of the fleeting sensory impression, articulated in qualities such as "charm, lightness and freshness", in favour of more "stability". I want to achieve that state of concentration of sensations that defines a painting," he commented. Another of the painter's convictions is the vehement affirmation of the human figure. "What interests me most is not still life or landscape, but the figure.
It is just such a passionate embrace of the human figure that we see in The Dance, a wild Terpsichorean ecstasy of pure nudity. Biographers have claimed to see a distant echo of the Sardana, a Catalan folk dance that Matisse had once observed on his travels. The painting describes the Dionysian principle of being itself, and Matisse, alluding to Friedrich Nietzsche, is said to have told his students that this dance would have pleased Zarathustra. Shchukin bought the work and commissioned another painting, which became Music. The contemporary Russian art critic P. Skrotsky spoke of the 'loud, poisonous colours that promote the idea of a satanic cacophony in these native, cannibalistic pictures', and it was no doubt under the influence of this and similar criticism that Sergei Shchukin changed his mind about the proposed purchase, as he had just adopted two little girls whom it would be unacceptable to expose to the sight of such blatant nudity. But he changed his mind again at the last minute and bought both paintings, which he hung on the staircase of his prestigious Moscow villa.
B) Problems of Art in Matisse's "Notes of a Painter" Essay
Introduction
"Notes of a Painter" is a theoretical essay by Matisse in 1908, in which the famous artist expresses his opinion on fundamental art problems. The author reflects on a painter's task and the meaning and forms of expression. Matisse also offers his ideas on the role of colour and the place of nature in art.
The main idea
The author begins his essay by saying that a painter who presents his (Matisse uses only masculine prepositions) ideas is exposed to three kinds of danger. The first is people's expectations: they expect a painter to express opinions, as in literature, which is impossible. The second danger is that a painter may contradict himself: his thought changes and triggers the change of expression, although the central idea remains unchanged. Finally, when a painter mentions other artists to compare his style with theirs, it can seem like he belittles their work.
After admitting he would be exposed to these dangers, Matisse explains a concept as essential as expression. He believed that expression "does not lie in passions". The way a painting is arranged, including the placement and size of figures, empty spaces, etc., is expression. Composition, the art of putting the parts of a picture, is used to express an artist's feelings, and expression is the aim of an essay. Matisse also mentions that how an artist covers a sheet dramatically influences the design. A drawing made on a particular shape and size would look different (probably worse) if repeated on another sheet.
Matisse then goes on to explain his views on the role of colour. He explains that choosing a colour according to its first impression may be tempting, but he would not do so because it makes the sensation vague, and he wants a more lasting interpretation. Instead, a writer should make the palette sound and harmonious, as the primary function of colour is to aid expression. For example, Matisse mentions his principle: when he paints an autumnal picture, he does not choose the colours often associated with autumn but those he believes would best express his feelings about autumn.
According to Matisse, an artist is always copying nature, and even if he moves away from it, this is only a way of exploring it more fully. Finally, the author mentions a popular belief about two types of artists, the first who work with nature and the second who work only with their imagination. This distinction, says Matisse, is entirely invented; there is no real difference, for all painters are connected to nature and work with it.
Reflecting on what makes a true artist, Matisse concludes: "All artists bear the imprint of their time, but the great artists are those in whom it is most deeply imprinted" (Matisse 5).
Conclusion
In his "Notes", Matisse touches on the most severe questions of art, such as the expression of a painter, the role of colour and nature in art. In addition, he mentions other artists to compare his approach with theirs. Finally, Matisse offers various examples from his professional life to support his arguments.
C) The Dessert: Harmony in Red, 1908 by Henri Matisse
The Dessert: Harmony in Red, 1908, is considered by some art historians to be Matisse's masterpiece. Matisse was greatly influenced by the Post-Impressionists, Van Gogh, Gauguin and Paul Cezanne, and Van Gogh was an ardent admirer of Japanese art and motifs. He developed his style with planes of bright, often unnatural colour and, like Van Gogh, always outlined his forms. However, like the Impressionist Claude Monet, this Fauvist painting has no central focus. Originally commissioned as 'Harmony in Blue', Matisse was unhappy with the result and overpainted it in his preferred red.
In 1908, in his Paris studio with its windows overlooking a monastery garden, Matisse produced one of his most important works from 1908-1913. This work, which the artist called a 'decorative panel', was intended for the dining room of the Moscow mansion of the famous Russian collector Sergei Shchukin.
Matisse turned to a common motif in painting: a room decorated with vases, fruit and flowers. Yet, as he wrote in 1908, 'the basis of my thinking has not changed, but thinking itself has evolved, and my means of expression have followed'.
With its energetic swirls of blue pattern, the rich raspberry-red fabric seems to sink from the wall, taking over the table's surface and uniting it into a single whole, swallowing up the three-dimensional space of the room, masterfully confirming the decorative potential of the canvas surface.
Matisse's first uncompromising use of this compositional device was in L'Atelier Rouge. But by affirming the flatness of the red colour, the artist managed to create an impression of space within it, an area in which the female figure bending over the vase could move and in which the sharply angled view of the chair seemed natural. The window, through which we see a green garden with flowering plants, allows the eye to move into the depths of the canvas. L'Atelier Rouge is a brilliant celebration of pattern and decoration. The rhythms of the foliage pattern on the tablecloth and wallpaper are echoed in the background through the window, uniting the interior with the more relaxed exterior.
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1. "Notes of a Painter " is a theoretical essay by Matisse in 1908, in which the famous artist expresses his opinion on fundamental art problems. The author reflects on the painter's task and the meaning and forms of expression.
2. How would you describe Henri Matisse's work?
The intense colourism of his work between 1900 and 1905 earned him a reputation as one of the Fauves (French for 'wild beasts'). However, many of his finest works were created in the decade after 1906, when he developed a rigorous style emphasising flattened forms and decorative patterns.
3. What is Matisse's style called?
Fauvism is the name given to artists' work (including Henri Matisse and André Derain) from around 1905 to 1910, characterised by solid colours and vigorous brushwork.
4. Which painting technique did Matisse use?
The alla prima technique
It also describes a direct method of working, in which each brushstroke is applied decisively and left alone; the paint is applied directly to the surface of the canvas, often without any preliminary underdrawing or underpainting.
5. What are the main themes in Matisse's work?
Matisse's themes - the joy of life, the dance, the dreamer, the circus and the artist's studio - touch on Symbolist ideals. In DancDance09, Matisse presents a timeless allegory that recalls a distant golden age.
6. What was Matisse's most famous work?
A pioneer of Fauvism and cut-paper collage, Matisse was one of the most important painters of the 20th century. Artsper reveals ten things you need to know about Henri Matisse. Dance is one of Matisse's most famous works and has become an icon of modern art.
7. What does Matisse mean?
Matisse may be a French name derived from the English name Matthew, which means 'God's gift'.
8. Why did Matisse use red?
Matisse loved red - it was a colour he returned to time and again. But here, he uses it subtly and unexpectedly. Matisse used a visceral blood red only a few years before The Red Studio in his Fauvist masterpiece The Dessert: Harmony in Red (1908).
9. How did Matisse choose his colours?
The artist "regarded colours as forces to be assembled as inspiration dictates". He chose colour palettes carefully and purposefully, understanding how one colour could be transformed by juxtaposing another. Every painting Matisse created began with a specifically composed palette.
10. Why did Matisse use colour?
Matisse was concerned with the problems of colour in pictorial composition and was aware of the potential of colour as an autonomous graphic element. Evidence of his interest in colour appears early in his artistic career and can be seen throughout his stylistic development.
11. What colour is there in Matisse's joie de vivre?
The Joy of Life is the epitome of Fauvism, as Matisse combines the sensuality of the figures with fluid lines and expressive use of vivid, non-natural colour. However, the use of colour - bright oranges, blues, yellows and greens - most disturbed the 1906 public.
Henri Matisse by Markus M. Müller
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34448013-henri-matisse
Problems of Art in Matisse's "Notes of a Painter" Essay
The Dessert: Harmony in Red, 1908 by Henri Matisse
https://www.henrimatisse.org/the-dessert-harmony-in-red.jsp