Henri Matisse: Freedom, Color, and Artistic Vision

Introduction: Matisse and the Language of Freedom

Henri Matisse was one of the world's most celebrated artists, and his long career spanned many decades. Matisse and Picasso are widely regarded as two of the greatest artists of the twentieth century, yet Matisse was always somewhat humble about his art and especially about his origins as a painter. His ideas and goals became clear the very first time he painted, as he recounted in interviews quoted by Steven C. Munson and in critical commentary by Arthur C. Danto. Matisse was a free spirit, and his works illustrate the freedom and joy he felt when he worked in his medium and created his masterpieces.

A Late Start and an Early Vision

Henri Matisse did not set out to be an artist. In fact, he took up art relatively late in life compared to most painters. He was 20 years old and recuperating in a hospital from exhaustion and a hernia when he first took up oil paints and discovered how deeply he loved the medium. In an interview, he remembered: "From the moment I held the box of colors in my hand, I knew this was my life. Like an animal that plunges headlong toward what it loves, I dived in.... It was a tremendous attraction, a sort of Paradise Found, in which I was completely free, alone, at peace" (Munson 41). During his convalescence he painted a great deal, but did not begin attending art school until several years later.

Fauvism and the Wild Beasts

Matisse attended several art schools, where instructors considered him "incapable" of learning to draw, and he did not exhibit his first painting until 1897. Modeled after the Impressionists he admired — among them Vincent van Gogh — the painting, called "The Dinner Table," was seen by some critics as "diseased." Matisse later mused, "people saw germs at the bottom of my decanters" (Munson 41). Not everyone shared that view, however. After seeing "The Dinner Table," Impressionist Camille Pissarro told the young painter: "Very good, my friend, you are gifted. Work, and do not listen to anything anyone tells you" (Munson 41).

As Matisse and his work matured, he created what the art world dubbed les fauves — "the wild beasts." His work did not depict natural subjects in a naturalistic way; instead, he attempted to capture emotions, sensations, and the felt experience of his subjects. As a result, his figures often took on a life of their own and looked more like caricatures than realistic portraits. He used color to startle his viewers, and he described his approach plainly: "We were at that point like children before nature, and we let our temperaments speak.... I spoiled everything on principle, and worked as I felt, only by color" (Munson 41). Matisse became an artist known for his freedom, his bold use of color, and his vivid personal style.

The Blue Nude: Color, Form, and Emotional Freedom

Matisse painted numerous works, many of which are well known and available for viewing at major art museums around the world. Two that are particularly illuminating are The Blue Nude, painted in 1907, and The Red Studio, painted in 1911. Both are vivid examples of his interest in color and abstract design.

The Blue Nude depicts a reclining woman with one arm arching over her head. Dark-haired and voluptuous, she is rendered in several shades of blue and pink. It is immediately clear that she is a woman, yet her shape is abstract: her feet are disproportionately large, and her hips and breasts are the central focus of the composition. Behind her, green and orange palm fronds add depth to the scene.

This work is representative of Matisse's early output, and when compared with his later, even more modern and dramatic paintings, it appears relatively realistic. Nevertheless, it displays the artist's love of color and form, as well as his driving need to be different, to be free, and to create works that generate emotion and understanding in the viewer. There is something sympathetic and vulnerable about this woman, in addition to making her an interesting and vibrant study in paint. In another interview, Matisse said, "I do not paint things, only the difference between things" (Danto), and this painting illustrates that idea precisely.

This woman is different — not merely because she is rendered in blue, but in a deeper sense. There is a distinction between her and the "normal" women of her day. She is free, she is unclothed, and she is clearly at ease in her surroundings. This sense of ease mirrors Matisse's own feelings when he first discovered painting: he felt free, at peace, and filled with joy. Those feelings are evident in this painting, making it more vivid and more real to the viewer. Matisse always wanted to draw viewers into his work, and this piece succeeds. One finds oneself wanting to know more about the woman after viewing it. What is her life like? Why does she appear both peaceful and pensive at the same time? What is the splash of blue beneath her hips — her discarded robe, or simply Matisse's rendering of shadows and light? Matisse draws the viewer in and creates the vision of freedom that fills all his works. His subjects seem to love life, even to revel in it, and looking at his paintings somehow liberates the viewer as well.

In another interview, Matisse stated: "What has been taken for boldness [in my work] was no more than the fact that anything else proved too difficult. Freedom is really the impossibility of following the same road as everybody else: freedom means taking the path your talents make you take" (Munson 41). Once again, the theme of freedom is paramount, alongside the feeling of joy that Matisse experienced while working.