Harmony In White : Henri Matisse And His Use In Color

Color - Color is definitely an important fact in this piece. This particular artist developed Fauvism along with Henri Matisse. Using bold colors and exaggerating color in their art. Derain was known as a Les Fauves painter. Les Fauves believed that color should be used to express the artists feelings about a subject, rather than simply describe what it looks like. This painting has two main characteristics a simplified drawing with exaggerated color.

Much, if not all, of his work before 1886 was very similar; he used vibrant color infrequently if it all and painted dark landscapes, still-lifes, and portraits (like The Potato Peeler). It was not until he left for France in 1886 that he decided to focus more on himself, thus transforming his style into what we recognize more easily today. There seems to be a misconception that he had always painted with vibrant colors and little thick strokes; but he only painted using vibrant and highly saturated colors for a brief time in his life as stated before.

Art has progressed in many ways throughout history; two prominent styles however that define the evolution of art are Realism and Impressionism. Realism is defined as “treatment of forms, colors, space, etc., in such a manner as to emphasize their correspondence to actuality or to ordinary visual experience”(realism). Two artists that are well known for this style of art are Gustave Courbet and Jean-François-Millet. Impressionism is defined as “a style of painting developed in the last third of the 19th century, characterized chiefly by short brushstrokes of bright colors in immediate juxtaposition to represent the effect of light on objects”(impressionism). Claude Monet and Pierre Auguste Renoir are pioneers of defining the Impressionist movement. These artists use a variety of techniques, perspectives, subject matter, as well as influences to create the art we see hanging in museums today.

During his early years in the profession he was often panned as being vulgar and pornographic. But then as more abstract movements took hold of the industry he quickly gained fame and popularity in places as far and as varied as Russia, America, Britain, France and even some of northern Africa. In his early years he would use more classical styles but as he grew as a person he would reach into styles such as fauvism and abstract. His mediums would grow to encompass painting, sculpting and paper crafts. Throughout his life he was varied but his lasting impression is definite, the abstract art world was forever changed because of him.

Apart from Matisse’s new found and developed personal style which is an obvious feature and aspect of this work, it is unlikely that any other events of the time affected this work. Matisse simply chose subject

The movement was known as Fauvism, and encouraged a style of painting that emphasized unusual and vivid colors over more realistic colors and natural lighting. One painting characteristic of Fauvism was Matisse's "Woman with Hat," which used bright oranges interspersed with shades of green and purple to depict a lady of the era. Camille Mauclair and other critics of the time considered the new style vulgar and the artists beastly, hence the name of the

Claude Monet was a famous French painter. His work contributed to the art movement impressionism. Impressionism was an art form concerned with capturing light, natural forms and shadows.

movement. He had a different approach to furniture designs as he frequently chose unique colours,

Much if not all of his work before 1886 was very similar; very little use of vibrant color, subject matter was that of dark landscapes/scenes, still-lifes, and portraits of others (like The Potato Peeler). It was not until he left for France that he decided to focus more on himself, thus transforming his style into what we recognize more easily today. There seems to be a misconception that he had always painted with vibrant colors and little thick strokes; but he only painted this way for a brief time in his life.

In the quote above, Matisse is stating that when it comes to art theory, science, practices, and ourselves, the truth about our essence is arguably present at all times. In his mind, whether one is referring to a painter or a scientist, their role as thinkers asks that they look at the truths which lay in front of them, and to then absorb them fully in order to make it one’s own.

The division of the canvas into patches of pure unmixed, warm and strident colour positioned in powerful contrasts with each other, translating the emotions of Matisse. This creates a balance in the artwork by applying equilibrium of colours on both of the sides of the canvas. Primitively, this was the way of Fauvists expressing their emotions, through the use of vibrant colours and compositions. In this way we can see that Matisse artwork is an art of balance which avoids the depressing subject matter.

There is no denying that art has been constantly redefined throughout history. Art has consistently been catered to fit what society wants and needs it to be, from realism to abstract and idealized Greek statues to intricate cathedral ceilings. However the Impressionist Movement of the 19th century brought a whole new dimension to the art community. Oscar-Claude Monet, a founders of the Impressionism, used his art to not only showcase a subject but to present it in a way that was completely extraordinary. Surrendering harsh lines and distinct shapes, Monet used brush textures and contrasting color palettes to open up a whole other perspective with which to observe the world. Monet commandeered these distinct techniques in his efforts to focus on the illustration of light effects on his subjects. This can be seen in his piece, The Rouen Cathedral, Façade (Sunset), Harmonie in Gold and Blue.

A work of art made by Paul Cézanne. This is not difficult to recognize as one can easily trace the similarities in both work of arts. The construction of Matisse landscape functions as a stage, similar to that of Cézanne’s; where trees are planted at the sides and in the far distance, and their upper boughs are spread apart like curtains, highlighting the figures lounging beneath, as well as the nude figures in Matisse’s painting, which is also traceable to that painted by Cézanne’s. Now that Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is a work of art inspired by Matisse’s Bonheur de Vivre, and, Matisse’s Bonheur de Vivre is inspired by Cézanne’s The Large Bathers, then, it is right to say that Cézanne’s The Large Bathers simultaneously inspired both Matisse and Picasso work of arts mentioned

Similar to Paul Cézanne, Matisse constructs the landscape so that it functions as a stage. In both pieces’ trees are planted at the sides and in the far distance, and their upper boughs are spread apart like curtains, highlighting the figures relaxing underneath. Cézanne also influenced Matisse in the way he unifies the figures and the landscape. He does this by stiffening and tilting his trunk like figures while Matisse does it by heavily emphasizing the serpentine arabesques that define the contours of the women and then reiterating it in the curvilinear lines of the trees.

His attention on drawing and form rather than color indicates his influence from Paul Cézanne.