During the late 19th and early 20th century many artists challenged the artistic conventions of the time.
Here I consider the works of Henri Matisse (1869 – 1954) in regards to their unconventionality and wether they could still be considered avant-garde in a contemporary context.
Modernism, as an artistic representation of modernity, was a broad artistic movement that occurred during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Papastergiadis 2006, 1). It comprised of varying degrees of avant garde movements that were partly based on uninhibited and spontaneous practice not restricted by a traditional set of rules or learned theories (Gombrich 1950, 414-415). It was not enough for the modern artist to conform to the methods and styles of classical aesthetics, they preferred the freedom of experimental art inspired by progressive and individual thought. According to Gombrich (1950, 435) “these artist of the twentieth century had to become the inventors. To secure attention they had to strive for originality rather than for that mastery we admire in the great artists of the past”. Society was changing and so evolved a need for more contemporary forms of expression. Papastergiadis (2006, 1) asserts “as key players in the historical avant garde, artists saw themselves at the forefront of revolutionary ideas. New inventions and the destruction of barriers would open the way for a transformation of art”.
The relevance of past artistic models and theories were questioned and artists desired a new form of representation that reflected a variety of perspective not in line with public taste or academic opinions on aesthetics (Rasula 2010, 718). The figureheads of the avant-garde believed that they could or in fact should create the necessary metaphors needed to bring art into the modern era (Hughes 1991, 9). This paper will discuss how new forms of artistic expression in painting evolved, and how classical notions of perspective and representation were challenged, through the analysis of the unconventionality of artworks by Fauvist artist Henri Matisse (1869 – 1954). Defining characteristics of traditional artistic convention, modernism, the avant garde and experimental art will be considered in relation to the artists desire for more innovative and personalised forms of expression that went beyond the boundaries of the convention.
In order to analysis an artwork in terms of its unconventionality it is important to first consider the artistic conventions of the time that were restrictive and ultimately challenged. It is stated by Hughes (1991, 16-17) that painting had almost always conformed to conventions in perspective since the beginning of the Renaissance. These perspectives related to specific ways of seeing through one-point perspective that allowed precise and idealised representations of nature. The classical practices used muted colour, intricate shading, and true form that enabled the artist to produce paintings depicting composed landscapes and perfect illusions (Gombrich 1950, 415). The arrival of the avant-garde challenged these idealised values of traditional artistic conventions through a more innovative and conceptualised approach to painting why?. According to Papastergiadis (2006, 1) artist began to experiment with colours, form and space to form new concepts and methods of expression that were regarded “as the pure expressions in a new universal language of art”. It is believed that in principle the nonconforming practices of the modernist painter abandoned the classical representation of objects in space and orientated the visual experience with a more subjective experience (Greenberg 1992, 310).
An artist best known for his innovative use of colour and experimental practice was painter Henri Matisse (1869-1954). An accomplished artist and icon of the modern era, Matisse’s work symbolises a shift towards the unconventional style associated with Modernism. Although Matisse referred to certain aspects of tradition throughout his career, he detested its precise and methodical principles (Hughes 1991, 134). Influenced by other great modernist painters including Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), Georges Seurat (1859-1891) and Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890), Matisse had no desire to create realistic, descriptive imitations but rather illusions that expressed the essence of the subject matter not the object its self (Brucker 2014). According to (The Personal life of Henri Matisse 2014) Matisse was challenging an established way of seeing that had been widely recognized in western society for centuries through his desire and ability to create artworks based on subjective experience, opposing the objective nature of traditional aesthetics. Matisse was not a politically driven artist interested in documenting reality but rather preferred to paint works of emotion providing a calm refuge from the despair and challenges of everyday life (Carrier 2004, 81-82). Beautifully written. More on what precisely occurred to allow for Modernism would have further cemented this argument.
It can be argued that Matisse was always destined to be an artist driven by an aesthetic sensibility. As a child his mother encouraged Matisse to ignore the rules of art and follow his emotions (The Personal Life of Henri Matisse 2014). In 1891 Matisse studied art at the Academie Julian in Paris under teacher and mentor William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905). Matisse’s departure from academic perspective began during his time at the Academie Julian. He despised the purist notions and methodical style of the academy. Matisse’s unconventional nature was nurtured through his training with progressive artists such as Gustave Moreau (1826-1898) and John Peter Russell (1858-1930), who opposed the mainstream teachings of the academy, and Matisse was encouraged to experiment beyond traditional expectation (The Personal Life of Henri Matisse 2014, 2). Throughout his career Matisse consistently explored the visual effects of colour (Spivey 2014). This is evident in his radical approach to colour and form, his complete disregard for pictorial depth and his overall rejection of the academy (The Personal Life of Henri Matisse 2014, 4).
For Matisse the year 1905 marked a momentous break from tradition launching him into the world of modern art. Open Window, 1905 (Plate 1.1) is representative of Matisse’s exploration of spontaneous style with distorted bright colours and an almost childlike, simplistic eccentricity. Criticised for its non-conforming lack of detail and non-naturalistic use of colour, the painting emits an aura of balance that’s harmonies and comforting. Matisse once wrote that he wanted his work to be balanced “of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter” (Brucker 2014). This is evident in Open Window were Matisse has created balance in colour and space. You are invited to stare and contemplate the calm atmospheric nature within the painting and his use vibrant colours gives a soothing feeling of being kissed by the sun.
Plate 1.1
Henri Matisse
Open Window
1905
Oil on canvas
National Gallery of Art, Washington,
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John Hay Whitney 1998.74.7
Another influential work that exemplifies the unconventional nature of Matisse is Woman with a Hat, 1905 (Plate 1.2). This portrait of Matisse’s wife was first exhibited publically at the Salon d’Automne in Paris, 1905. The work was extremely controversial for Matisse due to his use of bright colours and irregular brush strokes in an otherwise conventional portrait (SFMOMA 1998).
Plate 1.2
Henri Matisse
Woman with a Hat
1905
31 3/4 in. x 23 1/2 in. (80.65 cm x 59.69 cm)
Collection SFMOMA
Bequest of Elise S. Haas
This debated artwork represented an eccentric style and symbolized the birth of the first Modern art movement in France known as Fauvism (the wild beasts – explain context of name) (Spivey 2014). According to (Gombrich 1950, 442) the Fauvist movement was characterized by “their open disregard for forms of nature and their enjoyment of violent colours. Matisse was considered the central artist of the Fauvism movement characterized by its spontaneity in brush strokes and unusual colours straight from the tube onto the canvas (Little 2004, 100). The unconventionality of these works is visible in Matisse’s deliberate use of unrealistic colour to create simplified form lacking in precise detail. According to Carrier (2004, 81-82) Matisse did not seek to imitate reality world but rather worked to create harmonies constructions of vivid colour that provoked emotions. His works are more decorative representations, aesthetically pleasing not concerned with everyday life (Carrier 2004, 86).
Despite the skepticism Matisse continued experimenting with unconventional subjectivity and decorative technique in his painting. Gombrich (1950, 443) states “Matisse went much further in the transformation of the sight before him into a decorative pattern”. Matisse was inspired by oriental pattern in tapestries and carpets. He adored the equilibrium these decorative furnishings created and wanted to use the shapely repetition of pattern in his painting to express his world in raw colour (Hughes 1991, 139). This is evident in La Desserte, 1908 (Plate 1.3) and again in The Red Studio, 1911 (Plate 1.4) where Matisse created a harmonies connection within the interior. The surface between the wall and the table appears smooth and even only broken up by decorative pattern motifs. The flat image imitates that of a pattern rug or printed wallpaper where all elements roll into each other without depth or dimension. Matisse has distorted the forms to allow them to fit in with the patterned aesthetic of the painting. The abstracted shapes and unrealistic use of colour deny any sense of reality. This unconventional style incorporates Matisse’s desire to create works of expression rather than literal descriptions. Matisse once asserted that his purpose “is to render my emotion” (Hughes 1950, 141).
Overall Matisse’s work during the early days of Modernism had a significant influence on modern art and design (Gombrich 1950, 442). He demonstrated how radical forms of artistic expression could introduce a modern perspective on visual form through “the expressive potential of color, employing it arbitrarily, not based on an object’s natural appearance” (Spivey 2014).
Plate 1.3
Henri Matisse
La Desserte
1908
Oil on canvas
180 x 220cm
Plate 1.4
Henri Matisse
The Red Studio
1911
Oil on canvas
Throughout Matisse’s career he desired freedom from convention and explored various mediums in order to create liberated artwork. The avant-garde of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was an exciting time for the avant-garde artist. Hughes (1991, 9) declared that during the modernist era the avant-garde had “the belief that there was plenty of territory to explore, and above all the sense that art…could find necessary metaphors by which a radically changing culture could be explained to its inhabitants”. Todays contemporary context is very different from the one in which Matisse lived. Modern technologies have changed the way people see and communicate in a way that the avant-garde of the past could not have imagined. Bearing in mind the period in which Matisse created his masterpieces it can be argued that they could and should be considered avant-garde in that he dared to be different, against the deadlock of tradition he challenged convention and is still influencing the world of modern art today. As Carrier (2004, 87) concludes, Matisse’s pictures “remain immediately present to us, even though his artistic and personal style belong to a world that has disappeared”.
All rights reserved. 2014. Written by Natalie Moore.
Reference list
Brucker, Julia. 2014. “Your Guide to Modern Art: Henri Matisse”. The Art Story Foundation. Accessed June 16, http://www.theartstory.org/artist-matisse-henri.htm
Carrier, David. 2004. The Beauty of Henri Matisse. Journal of Aesthetic Education 38(2): 80-87. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3527318 .
Greenberg, Clement. 1992. “Modernist Painting.” In Art in Modern Culture: An Anthology of Critical Texts, edited by Francis & Jonathon Harrs (ed), 308-314. London: Phaidon.
Gombrich, E.H. 1950. The Story of Art. London: Phaidon Press Limited.
Harris, Beth and Steven, Zucker. 2009. Matisse’s The Red Studio 1911. YouTube Video, 6.45. Accessed June 10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-huWpNU-9w#t=198
Henri Matisse: The personal life of Henri Matisse. 2011.
http://www.henri-matisse.net/biography.html
Hughes, Robert. 1991. The Shock of the New. New York: Alfred A. Knopf
La Desserte. Accessed June 10, http://www.wikiart.org/en/henri-matisse/harmony-in-red-1908
Little, Stephen. 2004. Isms: Understanding Art. Great Britain: Herbert Press.
National Gallery of Art. Open Window by Henri Matisse. Art for the Nation. Accessed June 16, http://www.nga.gov/feature/artnation/fauve/index.shtm
Papastergiadis, Nikos. 2006. “Modernism and Contemporary Art.” Theory, Culture & Society 23(2-3): 466-469. Doi: 10. 1177/026327640602300286.
Rasula, Jed. 2010. “Make It New”. Modernism/Modernity 17(4): 713-733. Doi: 10. 1353/mo
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art: Henri Matisse. 1998.
http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/213#ixzz35w6UAavX
San Francisco Museum of Modern Artd.2010.0043.
Spivey, Virginia. 2014. Fauvism. Smart History: Khan Academy. Accessed June 10, http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/fauvism.html
Bibliography
Bell, Clive. 1983. “The Aesthetic Hypothesis”. In Modern Art and Modernism, edited by Francis Frascina (ed), 67-74. Boston: Addison-Wesley Longman.
Berger, John. 1972. Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin Group.
Williams, Raymond. 1989. “ When was Modernism.” In Art in Modern Culture: An Anthology of Critical Texts, edited by Francis & Jonathon Harrs (ed), 23-27. London: Phaidon.
Zola, Emile. 1982. “Edouard Manet.” In Art in Modern Culture: An Anthology of Critical Texts, edited by Francis & Jonathon Harrs (ed), 29-38. London: Phaidon.
ways of seeing 