Henri Matisse, an outstanding French artist and leader of the Fauvist movement, is known for his masterful rendering of exquisite emotions and feelings in color. Matisse's world is a world of dances and pastorals, beautiful vases, juicy fruits, greenhouse plants, carpets and colorful fabrics, bronze figurines and endless landscapes. His style is distinguished by the flexibility of lines, sometimes intermittent, sometimes rounded, conveying a variety of silhouettes and outlines, moods and motifs. Refined artistic means, color harmonies, combining bright contrasting harmonies, seem to call on the viewer of these works to enjoy the sensual beauty of the world.

They say about Matisse's painting that it is musical. The artist’s art was often given the definitions of “secular” and “salon”, seeing in the festivity and elegance of his paintings a direct influence of the tastes of wealthy patrons of the arts. Reproached for being out of touch with reality, decadence, lack of understanding modern problems. Indeed, with rare exceptions, you will not see nondescript everyday motifs in his paintings. Henri tried to capture something completely different: elegant women in a beautiful elegant setting, lush bouquets of flowers, bright carpets.

Henri Matisse Dance

The future artist came into the world, which would later be glorified by him with such love with the help of a brush and paints, just before the onset of the New Year - December 31, 1869 in Cateau-Cambresy, in northern France. The father wanted his son to get back on his feet as soon as possible, he saw him as a lawyer, a wealthy man, but his desires remained a dream. True, after graduating from the Lyceum Saint-Quentin, Matisse still had to study law in Paris. He first tried his hand at painting while in the hospital, where he suffered from appendicitis. There was a lot of free time, Henri made a drawing, another and... the work fascinated him. At the age of 20 he began training in art school Ventin de la Tour, and in 1891 he went to Paris, where he entered the School of Fine Arts. Then, contrary to the will of his father, Matisse left jurisprudence and completely settled in Paris, entering the Julian Academy and taking lessons from the master French painting Gustave Moreau.

A mystic and symbolist, Moreau predicted a great future for the aspiring artist, especially appreciating his innovative techniques in unexpected color combinations. Painting takes time and money. The family is growing: at the turn of two centuries, the artist’s sons are born - Jean and Pierre. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Matisse’s marriage was extremely happy: Amelie Matisse, devoted to the artist, worked hard so that her husband could only engage in creativity. This beautiful woman depicted on many of the master’s canvases; most famous works— “Woman in a Hat” and “Portrait of a Wife.” Amelie did everything possible to make Henri travel more, see the world, and absorb its colors. Together the couple travel to Algeria, where Matisse gets acquainted with the art of the East, which influenced him big influence. Hence, in his work - the predominance of color over form, variegation and patterning, stylization in the design of objects.

The search for a direct transfer of sensations using intense color, simplified drawing and flat images was reflected in the works presented at the Fauvist exhibition at the Paris Autumn Salon in 1905. At this time, Matisse discovered the sculpture of the peoples of Africa and became interested in classical Japanese woodcuts and decorative Arabic art.

In 1908, Russian collector Sergei Shchukin commissioned the artist to create three decorative panels for his own home in Moscow. The work “Dance” (1910) presents an ecstatic dance inspired by impressions of the Russian seasons of Sergei Diaghilev, the performances of Isadora Aunkan and Greek vase painting. In “Music” there are figures of artists playing the various instruments. The third panel - “Bathing, or Meditation” - remains only in sketches. Paintings from the Shchukin collection, “cut off” by the war from the rest of the world, were confiscated by the state after the revolution, remained locked up in Soviet basements throughout the middle of the 20th century and saw the light of day only after the death of Stalin (and Matisse himself).

It cannot be said that the artistic beau monde received Matisse’s work unambiguously positively. For example, Pablo Picasso did not perceive the French painter at all and saw him as his rival. Igor Stravinsky recalls: “What is Matisse? - Pablo liked to repeat. “There’s a balcony, and there’s a bright flower pot on it.”

Unlike Picasso, Matisse had to face opposition from his father, who was ashamed all his life that his son decided to become an artist. For many years Matisse lived in poverty. He was about forty when he was finally able to support his family on his own. Henri sought in art the peace and stability that life could not give him; Pablo, on the contrary, undermined the foundations of the world.

When they met in 1906, Picasso was 25 years old, had just arrived from Spain, barely spoke French, and practically no one knew him in Paris. Three-year-old Matisse at that time was already recognized as a first-class artist. The first painting that Matisse gave to Picasso in 1907 was a portrait of Henri’s daughter, Marguerite. Picasso hung the work in his studio and invited his friends to use it as a dartboard.

Matisse was strongly influenced by Islamic art, presented at an exhibition in Munich in 1911. The two winters the artist spent in Morocco (1912 and 1913) further enriched him with knowledge of oriental motifs, and long life on the Riviera contributed to the development of a bright palette. Unlike the masters of Cubism, Matisse’s work was not speculative; it was based on a scrupulous study of nature and the laws of painting. All these paintings, depicting female figures, still lifes and landscapes, are the result of a long study of natural forms. We can say that Matisse managed to harmoniously express the immediate emotional sensation of reality in the strictest artistic form. An excellent draftsman, he was primarily a colorist, achieving the effect of a coordinated sound of several intense colors. For example, in the painting “Luxury, Peace and Voluptuousness,” the Art Nouveau style is combined with the dotted style of painting characteristic of pointillism. Subsequently, color energy increases, interest in expression appears ( favorite word Matisse), colorful halos, coloristic elaboration within the pictorial composition.

The color impact of Matisse's paintings on the viewer is incredible; the colors cry out and shout like loud fanfares. Color contrasts are sharply highlighted and emphasized. Here is what the artist himself says: “In my painting “Music” the sky is painted in a beautiful blue color, the bluest of blues, the plane is painted with a color so saturated that the blue, the idea of ​​absolute blue, is fully revealed; Pure greenery was taken for the trees, and ringing cinnabar for human bodies. For expression depends on the color surface embraced by the viewer as a whole.”

In Matisse’s works, color predominates so much over the drawing that we can say: it is color that is the true hero of the content of the paintings. Like creative method was characteristic not only of Matisse, but also of Fauvism in general. One critic wrote about the Fauves: “They threw a can of paint in the public’s face.” Matisse, in one of his essays, counters: “The colors in a painting should excite feelings to the very depths, no matter what the critics say.” No wonder Guillaume Apollinaire exclaimed: “If Matisse’s work needed comparison, one should take an orange. Matisse is a fruit of dazzling color.”

Henri Matisse: matisse46

Henri Matisse: Les voiliers

The accuracy with which he builds a composition on canvas is remarkable. Matisse grasps the very axis of movement, giving the drawing integrity and regularity. His sketches are so sharp, dynamic, lapidary and at the same time flexible that they cannot be confused with the works of other draftsmen - they are immediately recognizable!

French artists of the Art Nouveau era were partial to dance. Graceful ballerinas of Degas, prima cabaret of Toulouse-Lautrec - various forms a dance theme that has become fashionable. Henri Matisse was no exception. And although realism is alien to Matisse’s images, and his decorative canvases have little in common with a reliable depiction of ballerinas on pointe shoes, the theme of dance invariably appears in turning points creative path.

Henri Matisse: Matisse Icarus (Icare), 1943-1944, From Jazz

Henri Matisse: Matisse Music, 1910, oil on canvas, The Hermitage at St. Pet

The panel “Parisian Dance” was conceived by Matisse in his declining years. However, the work is considered one of the most daring and innovative. Especially for this order, the author invented and developed an original technique - decoupage (translated from French as “cutting”). Like a giant puzzle, the picture was assembled from individual fragments. From sheets pre-painted with gouache, the maestro personally cut out figures and pieces of background with scissors, then, according to the drawing marked with charcoal, attached them to the base with pins... The “Parisian dance” is known in three versions. The earliest, unfinished version is essentially a preparatory sketch. With the second, almost completed work, an unfortunate story emerged: Matisse made a mistake in the size of the room, and the entire canvas had to be rewritten. The final version was approved by the client and successfully departed overseas. And the previous, “defective” artist managed to finish, in 1936 he gave the work to the Museum for a modest remuneration contemporary art in Paris. Today, “Parisian Dance” is rightly considered the pearl of this museum’s collection - it is no coincidence that a special hall was built to display the giant canvas. Another one interesting detail: in the process of working on the “Parisian Dance,” Henri Matisse had to visit Moscow, where, along with the poet Valery Bryusov and the artist Valentin Serov, who revealed to Matisse the beauty of Russian icons, from which French painter was delighted, he met Lydia Aelektorskaya. This simple Russian girl was destined to go down in history - she became a secretary, then an indispensable assistant, and then the artist’s closest friend and last muse. In October 1933, Lydia Lelektorskaya moved into Matisse’s house and stayed there for almost 22 years.

Matisse wrote about his impressions of Russia: “Yesterday I saw a collection of old icons. That's true great art. I am in love with their touching simplicity, which is closer to me and more expensive than paintings Fra Angelico. In these icons, like a mystical flower, the soul of the artists is revealed. And from them we need to learn to understand art.”

First World War, which left a deep mark on Matisse’s soul and changed his artistic style. The coloring of the paintings becomes gloomy, and the drawing becomes almost schematic. Since 1918, the artist has lived almost constantly in Nice, occasionally visiting Paris. Joyful, bright colors will not return to his painting soon... In numerous compositions of this period, among which the most famous are “Persian Dress”, “Music” (1939), “Romanian Blouse” (1940), the artist again affirms the principles of “pure painting” " Painted with careless strokes, these paintings created a joyful but deceptive impression - as if they were painted easily, the first time, as a result of happy and carefree inspiration. But in fact, each of the master’s creations is the result of painstaking research, hard work, and enormous moral and physical stress. No different good health, suffering from insomnia, Matisse denied himself many pleasures just to maintain the ability to work. While creating a picture, he forgot about everything in the world.

Henri Matisse: Matisse Jazz- The Toboggan, 1943, paper cut-outs

The artist continues to create even in the most difficult times for him. Since 1941, he has been seriously ill, his wife and daughter were arrested by the Gestapo for participating in the Resistance movement, Matisse knows nothing about their fate for a long time. IN last years Henri works more as an illustrator and is fond of collages. With what delight he painted the patterns of oriental carpets, how carefully he achieved precise, harmonious color relationships! His still lifes and portraits of late times are also magnificent, full of mysterious inner light. This is no longer an intimate painting, it takes on a cosmic sound. Forced to abandon oil painting, unable to hold a brush and palette in his hands, the artist developed a technique for composing an image from scraps of colored paper. In 1948-53, by order of the Dominican Order, Matisse worked on the construction and decoration of the “Chapel of the Rosary” in Vence. An openwork cross hovers above the ceramic roof depicting the sky with clouds; above the entrance to the chapel there is a ceramic panel depicting St. Dominic and the Virgin Mary. Other panels, executed according to the master’s sketches, are placed in the interior; the artist is extremely stingy with details, restless black, the lines dramatically tell the story Last Judgment(west wall of the chapel); next to the altar is an image of Dominic himself. This last work Matisse, which he attached great importance, a synthesis of many previous quests, worthily completed his artistic path. However, Matisse painted until the last moment, even at night, even after a heart attack, the day before his death, on November 3, 1954, he asked for a pencil and made three portrait sketches.

The artist, fortunately, had a long and intense creative life- in a world full of disasters, technical, scientific and social revolutions. This world was deafening, it was changing with truly explosive speed, and Matisse overturned all the usual ideas, piled up ruins, multiplied discoveries, and looked for new forms of being in art. I searched and found!

Henri Matisse: Odalisque in red trousers)