

In 1905, Matisse met Pablo Picasso at the studio of Gertrude Stein. The Fauvist movement, though short-lived, forged one of modern art's two directions. " Matisse was soon known as the Fauvists' leader in the press, called "chief fauve" by Louis Vauxcelles and other critics. The new style became known as Fauvism, after critic Louis Vauxcelles described the arrangement of works at the Salon d'Automne in 1905 - an important showcase for the new movement - as "Donatello among the wild beasts. Matisse spent summer 1905 in Collioure, working with André Derain to create a new style of pure colors and bright light. Oil on canvas - The Art Institute of Chicago
True story portrait painter heals sufferers series#
The painting might be compared to The Backs series (1909-31), which also preoccupied Matisse the years he was working on Bathers, since both address the problem of depicting a three-dimensional figure against a flat background. It is far more concerned with faithful representation of the structure of the human figure, and its position in space. Although Matisse rejected Cubism, he certainly felt challenged by it, and this picture - along with many he painted from 1913 to 1917 - seems to be influenced by the style, since it is very unlike his previous, more decorative work. However, his transformations gradually turned it into more of a confrontation with Cubism, and it is for this reason that the picture has been the subject of intense scrutiny. The painting evolved out of a commission from Matisse's Russian patron, Sergei Shchuckin, for two decorative panels on the subjects of dance and music, and, initially, the scheme for the picture resembled the idyllic scenes he had previously depicted in paintings such as Joy of Life (1905-06). He worked on it at intervals over eight years, and it passed through a variety of transformations. Matisse regarded this picture as one of the most important in his career, and it is certainly one of his most puzzling. Some of his work reflects the mood and personality of his models, but more often he used them merely as vehicles for his own feelings, reducing them to ciphers in his monumental designs.

At times he fragmented the figure harshly, at other times he treated it almost as a curvilinear, decorative element. Its importance for his Fauvist work reflects his feeling that the subject had been neglected in Impressionism, and it continued to be important to him.

His art was important in endorsing the value of decoration in modern art.These ideas continued to be important to him throughout his career.

Rather than using modeling or shading to lend volume and structure to his pictures, Matisse used contrasting areas of pure, unmodulated color.
