Henri Matisse was a French artist who was hailed for his use of color and the fluidity of his artwork. He is regarded as one of the main artists who helped define the revolutionary developments in modern art. He was both a painter and a sculptor, however he is best known for his paintings which can be characterized as decorative. In his critical essay of Matisse’s style, Andrew Lambirth claims that Matisse is one of the few artists whose work allows the word decorative to be used as an exclamation of praise, rather than “ damning criticism.” Many other art historians consider decorative paintings to lack skill and simply employ extra features that hide the flaws in the art, but Lambirth argues that in Matisse’s case, it is appropriate because that is where the expression in his paintings comes from.
A major point that Lambirth utilizes to support his claim is the importance of fabrics in Matisse’s paintings and how they influenced his work. They played such a crucial role in his life that he would “[buy] textiles even when he had very little money.” He even went as far as to call his collection a “working library.” He would use the fabrics to inspire his paintings. This added a decorative aura to his works, but the colors portrayed were the real expressions that he was trying to convey. Matisse himself claimed that “expression and decoration were one and the same thing.”
Lambirth strengthens his argument by using direct quotes about the topic and show that he is siding with Matisse. Matisse himself said “it's a bad mistake to give a pejorative sense to the word ‘decorative.’ A work of art should be decorative above all.” This shows that Matisse did not use decoration in his works simply to fill the canvas but rather to express the main thoughts and feeling of the theme of the painting. It is easy to see in Reclining Odalisque how a certain textile inspired him by looking at the pattern on the wall. The colors displayed in the pattern are not simply for aesthetically pleasing reasons, but rather for bringing fourth the mood of the scene in the painting.
Lambirth also notes Matisse’s use of pattern in his paintings and how it was also influenced by fabrics. When Matisse first began his artistic endeavors, he was considered part of a group of artists that practiced Fauvism. That is, his style utilized wild color use without any regard for the actual color perception of the objects being painted. However, after he became more experienced and his style matured, he moved away from that and more into decorative patterns. These patterns were influenced by his fabrics and they helped draw attention to the overall themes of his paintings.
Henri Matisse’s decorative style can not be scolded because he is one of very few artists whose works bring justice to the word decorative as used in art criticism. The influence of fabrics and textiles in his work allow him to utilize patterns and colors in order to find the appropriate and most effective way to communicate and express the feeling of painting to the viewer.
No comments:
Post a Comment