A glimpse of the ART world, in the manner of an alphabetical mini-art tour. ART focuses on artists and art movements between the 1850's-1960's. There are exceptions.
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| Henri Matisse, Artist, 1933, by Carl Van Vechten ,(WC) |
H = Henri Matisse
1869 = 1954
Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse, a Fauvist painter who endured condemnation and criticism to find his way in the art world of Paris. A French artist known for his 'draughtsmanship', he was also a printmaker and sculptor. His conservative appearance and his dedicated work habits did not fit in with those of his artist friends.
In 1898, he took the advice of Camille Pissarro and went to London to study the painting style of J.M.W. Turner, but Matisse found his inspiration in Cezanne's sense of structure and color. He purchased many works from his fellow artists on his return. In his home, he displayed a plaster bust by Rodin, a painting by Gauguin, a Van Gogh drawing, and Cezanne's 'Three Bathers'.
Matisse and a group of artists known as 'Fauves' exhibited together in 1905. In 1906, Henri met Pablo Picasso for the first time, a brooding dark-eyed artist 11 years younger than himself. They met at Gertrude Stein's Paris salon. Gertrude, her brothers Leo Stein, Michael Stein and wife Sarah, all became important collectors and supporters of Matisse's paintings. Picasso and Matisse became lifelong friends and rivals.
In 1907, Guillaume Apollinaire commented about Matisse in an article published in La Falange, calling Matisse's art 'eminently reasonable'. Yet, when Matisse showed Woman with the Hat at the Paris Salon, it received harsh criticism.
. . .'When the painting that was singled out for special condemnation, Matisse's Woman with a Hat, was brought by Gertrude and Leo Stein. . ." (Wiki)
Gertrude Stein purchased the painting and hung it in her apartment thus ending the public discussion of its worth. She continued to collect Picasso and Matisse over many other artists who attended her Paris social gatherings.
During the period between 1906 and 1917, Henri Matisse was an active part of the art and creative talent gathering in the Montparnasse district of Paris. He died of a heart attack in 1954 at the age of 84, and is interred in a cemetery in Cimiez, near Nice, France.
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Fauvism style has been described as 'expressing emotion with wild, often dissonant (clashing) colors, without regard for the subject's natural colors'.
Images of Paintings
In respect of the artist's copyright which expires in 2024, I'm linking to the paintings below. It's worth a click or two, if only to see the lush color.
IMAGE links:
Woman-with-a-Hat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Matisse-Woman-with-a-Hat.jpg
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Portrait of Madame Matisse.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Matisse_-_Green_Line.jpeg Another favorite
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Do you know of Henri Matisse's work as one of the leaders of the Fauvists? What do you think of the preference for color importance over realism?
Please share your thoughts in the comments and thanks for dropping by! I'll respond.
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Brought to you by the A to Z Blog Challenge 2014 Team and the originator: Lee of Tossing it Out. Click the A to Z list of participants and read on. Hope to see you again throughout the blogfest.
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References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Matisse wiki Henri Matisse
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Image Credit:
Image of Matisse by Photographer: Carl Van Vechten
This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons
As the restrictions on this collection expired in 1986, the Library of Congress believes this image is in the public domain.
However, the Carl Van Vechten estate has asked that use of Van Vechten's photographs "preserve the integrity" of his work, i.e, that photographs not be colorized or cropped, and that proper credit is given to the photographer.
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