Henri Matisse drew from eclectic sources. Old enough to remember the first wave of Impressionism in the late nineteenth century, he also knew Greek pottery and statuary, as well as Islamic decoration. And of course he and the Spaniard Pablo Picasso had an ongoing artistic conversation, in spite of their very different temperaments. But in the final effect he was an original. He looked like no one else and there was no one like him.
"The Daisies" is Matisse all over. It's a mature painting, from 1939, and in a few years he'd mostly switch to cut paper. You could break it down into four rough quarters. In the upper left is the nude, a painting within a painting. To contemporary eyes she looks like she's scrolling on her phone, which is both funny and sad. The classical pitcher is also mostly in the upper left. Upper right gives us the flowers of the title, flower that's never too much. The pensive model in the lower left has taken on an entirely red hue, blending in with her chair. And in the lower right is the table that holds up the pitcher and flowers, as well as half a dozen lemons. The table has a very substantive base.
All of them make up a harmonious and inviting whole.
1 comment:
When it comes to admiring the work of one artist over another I always preferred Matisse whose work, unlike Picasso's, was always relatable. Of course I'm not surprised they knew each other well and even kept watch on each other's new pieces. Interestingly, they often painted the same subjects, sometimes even with the same title. Their long and mutually challenging careers were nicely documented in this article:
https://www.pablopicasso.org/picasso-and-henri-matisse.jsp
You've done a fine job of describing the aspects of The Daisies that make it so appealing. It is a very beautiful painting.
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