Windows by matisse

Carrying over from the earlier picture is only the ship, moored with its sails furled. As we look through the open window across this placid, tranquil scene, the somber colors suggest a new and different sort of light in his work. However, here the theme of the open window is almost completely sublimated into the motif of the decorative border. Only the balustrade at the bottom suggests an architectural reference for the point of view from which the artist is recording his sensations. He had employed this decorative frame as early as Still Life with Aubergines , and it was originally part of another large, tapestry-like painting of , The Nymph in the Forest, a picture that may well be a pendant for the present design.

Unlike Le Luxe , here in Window in Tahiti the human figure has been banished, much as in the studio interiors of A diminutive but explosive oil on canvas, it is celebrated as one of the most significant early paintings of the Fauve school. Distinguished by a vibrant palette of saturated, pure colours and generous brushstrokes, the effect of a Fauve painting is one of spontaneity.

In , another vocation called for Monique Bourgeois — this young woman entered into the religious order of the Dominicans , and was officially ordained as Sister Jacques-Marie.

Having previously qualified as a nurse, she continued to administer care to the painter who eventually bought a home in Vence not far from the convent. In the summer of , Bourgeois confided to Matisse her wish to decorate the oratory fitted out by the nuns in one of the rooms in their convent. But Matisse had bigger ideas and ambitions. He agreed to design a chapel that would be offered to the Dominicans.

With the advice of architects Auguste Perret and Milon de Peillon, along with recourse to the skill of the builders and artisans of Vence, Matisse began working solidly on the chapel for the next four years. At the age of seventy-seven and in ill-health, Matisse began the biggest and most challenging work of his entire career. The completed chapel contains three sets of stained glass windows — making use of a colour trio: a vivid green, an intense yellow and a vibrant blue.

On the wall behind the altar is a large image of St. Dominic , founder of the Order of Dominicans. Adorning the side walls are abstract images of flowers and an image of the Madonna and Child, all created in black outlines on white tiles. Rather than the usual image of clasping the child to herself, Matisse chose to show Mary offering her son to the world.

On the back wall of the chapel are the traditional fourteen Stations of the Cross. Articles on this site are the copyright of Simon Abrahams. To use copyrighted material in print or other media for purposes beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Websites may link to this page without permission please do but may not reproduce the material on their own site without crediting Simon Abrahams and EPPH. Privacy Policy. Design by Kind Company. Detroit Institute of the Arts Click image to enlarge. Click next thumbnail to continue Captions for image s above: Matisse, The Window Click image to enlarge.

Captions for image s above: Detail of Matisse's The Window , upside down. Click image to enlarge. More Works by Matisse See how Matisse himself appears in even a simple drawing of an unidentified model.

Discover yet another way that artists convey their dual perception.