Earlier this year I had a remarkable opportunity to contemplate the works of Henri Matisse at the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.
Among other breathtaking paintings commissioned by the Russian art collector Sergei Shchukin, in this collection are La Musique (Music) and La Danse (Dance). Both paintings made by Henri Matisse between 1909 and 1910.
At first they seem like one! Human figures on a blue and green background… one group is dancing and the other playing music. They seem to be in one place together.
But soon after the first impressions they first started to show subtile and soon obvious differences.
Human figures in the Dance are drawn with beautiful long strokes and in one movement. One can see that wherever they were placed in the beginning, that is where they are in the finished art.
There is no doubt in his line. There is no change of mind.
Now, look at the Music (below) created at the same time, same size and colour palette, but in a different manner.
The figures in Music have moved around and Matisse wanted us to know that. Although he was not happy with the first setup, he did not care to hide it. The sitting figure on the right was originally placed closer to the group and then moved away and twisted forward.
Two middle figures were closer to the centre of the group and have been re-positioned. This shows that Matisse was changing his mind and looking for the right balance. These exquisite details allow us to witness the artist’s dilemma in his search for the perfect composition.
I could not help but wonder why and how much the exact positions of his figures were crucial for this artwork ? And how exactly did he make those decisions? And also, at what point did Henri decide this painting was finished?
For me, this is is one of the most interesting things with Matisse. The contrast in his work from a seemingly quick, ad-hoc definition to a more deliberate study of form, from expressive brush work done in a few movements to developed brush strokes in layers.
For example, his input and work on paintings can be detailed and concentrated work like a tree in the window or a table setup in the Red Room (France, 1908).
In the detail above we can see that it is a short brush stroke in bright blue and pink juxtapositioned into a dynamic rhythm.
Like this one, many of Matisse’s paintings have parts painted in detail, layers of paint, but other times its just a few brush strokes that does the job. For example his painting Moroccan in Green (France, 1912).
Painted with a sense of easiness and confidence in every stroke. Small amounts of paint makes work looking somewhat unfinished. But calling it unfinished would be far from the truth. On the contrary, it is complete and complex. A brush stroke in the detail below shows how sometimes very little is enough. Here we can clearly see a brush stroke with less pigment and more medium that leaves an under-layer quality on the canvas. In some parts the canvas is not painted at all.
It is brilliant that one artist can decide when and what is enough to complete a painting by adopting different values in different circumstances.
From one to the next of his paintings, Matisse’s technique is constantly surprising. Sometimes a simple form will satisfy him, in another instance he will persist in search of the form or colour and paint layer over layer – until the expression and meaning are one.
Throughout fifty years of his work, his arduous search for the right composition, form, shape and colour has left us with a lot to learn from.
Klara B Klaric
August 2016, Melbourne
