How the atmosphere of the nature, devoid of Sun inspires the mind to create inner world full of color, optimism and serenity in Henri Matisse’s world
Birth of the inner joy painting the world that is missing through desired shapes, patterns and colors
Sometimes we find our inspiration in the darkest moments, and create and nurture it further into the revolution of painting, writing, music, technology,….really anything. Then we wonder about those among us that didn’t have the dark moments to experience, and like caterpillar that had it too easy, was unable to develop the wings strong enough to fly.
Matisse grew up in a small place in Northern France with gloomy weather, and the absence of Sun made him explore/create the inner world that radiated outwards in the forms of Fauvism. As characterized in terms of the Art movements, but internally he was striving to achieve the radiance, purity and serenity in his pieces and even though his attitude was somewhat conservative, he is regarded alongside Picasso as one of the greatest art force that shaped 20th century painting.
Positive psychology or finding the truth within
An artist must never be a prisoner. Prisoner? An artist should never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success, etc.
Henri Matisse
Matisse experienced great care and attention from his mother, nurturing and supporting every artistic move that he would make. Some historians suggest that he even continually painted his childhood, due to the positive memories created at the time. As they lived in the town with very grim weather, his mother used to bring into the house a lot of color, vivid decoration. He grew up in a caring environment, his father was letting him play with pigeons that he was growing and at the moment of his appendicitis recovery in his youth, his mother brought him art supplies so that he can paint while recovering. This was the turning point, as he found his paradise and continued on becoming one of the most significant artists of the century.
“You study, you learn, but you guard the original naivete. It has to be within you, as desire for drink is within the drunkard or love is within the lover.” Henri Matisse
The whole concept of Fauvism is in finding the inner core, the innocent uninfluenced youth and pure unrefined thoughts. The great inspiration for Matisse was the study of indigenous arts of North Africa and Asian Art which is visibly incorporated in his pieces.
The focus on a human figure was most prominent in Matisse paintings, he criticized Impressionism as he believed it focused so much on the in between that it lost touch with the human. Additionally he rejected cubism for similar reasons as he believed that his art should communicate the optimistic radiance and shelter from the confusion and harsh reality that the world around him was.
Today, the world of design is probably still under the influence of skeletal structures that Matisse founded. So many people appreciated his positive communication with the world, the use of color, and patterns. However, even though the overall effect is the one of joy and contentment, the use of patterns in it’s distorting shape sometimes brings the eerie feeling, and creates the depth with which we perceive his reality.
Drawing is like making an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence.
Henri Matisse
