Matisse: Interior with Etruscan Vase

Henri Matisse is one of my favourite artists, his decorative, colourful style appeals to me.   He caused quite an uproar in the art world in his early years with his bold use of colour and sometimes distorted forms.  Although his paintings look effortless and joyful, he worked very hard and was very meticulous in studying a subject and composition.  For instance, for his Pink Nude in 1935, he made about 22 or 23 paintings before finishing the final one.  

This interior painting was done in 1940, while he was living in Nice in the South of France.  The colourful and vibrant interior is anchored by the table in the middle of the image and many of the elements in this painting can be seen when images of Matisse's studio at the time is studied.  He liked including known pieces and existing art in his paintings. The picture behind the lady is in fact a drawing for a tapestry he later made.  The vase to the right looks deformed, but this is apparently what the vase actually looked like.  The curator of the museum couldn't believe that it could actually stand!  To the right you can see a blackout curtain over the window, as was people started to use when the war broke out.  

This painting was also one that was confiscated by the Nazis while Pierre Rosenberg was trying to move it out of Europe.  Luckily it survived the war and was returned to the Matisse family afterwards.  Today it is displayed in the Clevelend Museum of Art.

This 40 x 50cm version of his painting is fairly challenging and has 24 colours.  Each box contains a stretched, printed and numbered canvas, paint, brushes and a page detailing the numbers for an extra reference.

I do not literally paint that table, but the emotion it produces upon me. ”
-Henri Matisse