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Henri Matisse

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Henri Matisse was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. Famous for representing the human form as his source of inspiration, more particularly the beauty of the female form, he was born in 1869 in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France and died at the age of 84 in 1954 in Nizza, France (henri-matisse.net, 2011). He was one of the first artists who exemplified the Fauvist art movement. The work he produced in almost six and a half decades is now presented in the art exhibition ‘Matisse: Drawing Life’ in the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) in Brisbane. A good example of his ability to present human expression can be found in his artwork ‘Le Bonheur de vivre’ (‘The Joy of Life’).

The artwork ‘Le Bonheur de vivre’ was produced in 1905 – 1906 (wikipedia.org, 2012). Henri Matisse used many different ways of drawing and painting throughout the years and gesture drawing was one of his specialties. The main aspect that this work reflects is the human figure, which is typical of Matisse’s work. In addition in this work the human figure is shown in a variety of positions and sizes. The artwork has a size of 175.6cm x 241cm and Matisse has used oil colours on canvas to create it. It resides in the Barnes Foundation, Merion, Paris (Nicolas Pioch, 2002). The artwork was hung without a big frame that would possibly distract the viewer, so the focus is on the drawing. The work depicts a clearing in a forest with a group of six people dancing around, two lying down, and one couple kissing and there are also two people who are playing the flute. In the very background the viewer can see the sea. The artist has used bright colors that give the drawing a happy atmosphere.

The artwork is representing the things that make life enjoyable, ‘Le Bonheur de vivre‘- ‘The Joy of Life’. Being together in a group, in nature, playing music and having fun is an easy way for humans to spend their time and have fun. The artist has depicted the figures naked, and in very natural poses which suggests that these people do not need anything to be jolly. The figures appear more like a contour drawing than detailed figures, because Matisse did not bother too much with detail, in this work. He is more interested in the contours of the figures, their shapes and curves, which stand out by the creation of a strong outline. He clearly wants to draw attention to the two figures in the centre of the painting, because he made the edges around them darker and their bodies in the middle, lighter. Also the colours in the middle are brighter than the ones he used for the background and the sides, which creates a focus. This way of presenting the human body is typical for Matisse; it is obvious that he is eminently interested in drawing the female figure and its curves. In this artwork the faces can barely be seen – however there is still the human expression of happiness. The figures look relaxed, happy and careless. In his paintings, Matisse uses colour often. These colours are what supports the title of the drawing the most. By making the drawing colourful, he has made it happier and full of the joy of life.

The artist has been successful in portraying an element of human expression, as it is easy to see that the people in the painting are happy. Being happy is an expression that is not very easy to capture. He is presenting the human form in an interesting way by adding curves, making two people seem like one and adding colour. Two other pieces of Matisse’s work that are also successful are ‘Fée au Chapeau de Clarte’ (‘Fairy with the cap of light’), 1933 and ‘Greta Prozor’, 1916. These works are very different to ‘Le Bonheur de vivre’ because they follow a different style of drawing and they represent different emotions. ‘Greta Prozor’ is a colourful drawing that seems sad and lonely and ‘Fée au Chapeau de Clarte’ is a precise pencil drawing that creates a strict atmosphere. These two artworks show how different Matisse’s works sometimes were.
Besides a painter, Henri Matisse was also a draughtsman, a printmaker and a sculptor. Matisse stated, "I sculpted as a painter, I did not sculpt like a sculptor. Sculpture does not say what painting says.", which approves that painting was his main passion and also his most successful career.
All in all the painting is as successful as it is, because Matisse used his skill in contour drawing and application of delicate colour to communicate with the viewer. He has also shown his skill in capturing human expression and the human forms – especially females. The painting represents Matisse’s style Fauvism and is one of his most popular artworks

http://emptyeasel.com/2007/07/03/henri-matisse-fauvisms-most-colorful-painter/ http://www.henri-matisse.net/biography.html http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/matisse/ http://www.henri-matisse.net/drawings.html Le Bonheur de vivre. Retrieved: 28 January 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_bonheur_de_vivre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauvism

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