Henri Matisse Influence On Women

Matisse was born in a small cottage in 1869, he was his parents first born child. His father was traditional and stern whereas his mother was kind hearted and loving. In addition to having a compassionate soul, Henri’s mother ran a section of her husband’s shop that sold house paints. Anna, his mother, loved everything Henri did. Throughout his life, he spoke very highly of his mother, after all, she is responsible for Henri’s discovery of art. In 1887 Henri went to school to study Law in Paris, although, he considered it tedious he passed the Bar exam the following year. Shortly after starting work, he had an appendix attack. Henri was bed ridden, being the momma’s boy he was, he returned home in northern France to receive his mother’s care
during recovery. One day, Anna brought Henri some paint to entertain him while recovering, this is when he discovered his love and passion for painting. His mother gave him the advice to not listen to the ‘rules’ of art and instead listen to his emotions. When Matisse regained his health, he attended art school in Paris. Art school didn’t quite fit him, he hated it. After discovering his disgust with perfectionist style teaching he trained with Gustave Moreau, he practiced a more progressive style. Matisse was a modernist and is considered, to this day, to be one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. In 1905 Matisse created the Joy-of-Life painting, using bold colors, curvy lines, and strong brushwork. He used a Technique called Fauvism, a style that he helped create. This painting consists of red, yellow, green, blue, and tan. Because of the colors used in this painting, I believe it is fall. The women in this painting are showing friendship, love, compassion, dancing, as well as many other things.
“What interests me most is neither still life nor landscape: it is the human figure.” I agree with Matisse. I believe created this painting to show how beautiful natural things are, that is why the women are naked. Anatomy, is beautiful. In today’s world, the body is viewed as sexual, but it is more than that. Seeing naked paintings might make one feel uncomfortable, but why? Why is our anatomy something we hide and sexualize? I do not mean that we should not wear clothes but I strongly believe that before we feel uncomfortable seeing a naked painting we should recognize that it is more than just a naked woman or man. We should celebrate instead of shun, just like the women in the painting all expressing forms of joy and happiness. When looking at this painting, the eye naturally flows from one section to the next by using directional forces painted by Matisse. He also creates scale and proportion by using different shades of color and sizes of the women and scenery to show the size relation of one thing to another and the painting as a whole. Matisse had a very successful and influential life, some high points are his pieces Dance I & Music 1909 and Piano Lesson in
1916.