Matisse - The Open window

The Open Window was originally painted in 1905 by Henri Matisse, and although it is a small one, it is seen as an icon of early modernism.  This painting was one of the few that was exhibited at the Salon d'automne in Paris in 1905, where Fauvism was first 'labelled' as such.  This painting represents the very inception of the new manner of Matisse's art.  It was painted in Collioure, a small town on the Mediterranean coast of France, where the artists loved the light and even praised the shadows.  Matisse spend time in that town in the summer of 1905, together with Andre Derain

This painting is in the typical style these artists started to use, distinguished by a bright and startling palette of saturated, unmixed colours and broad brushstrokes.  Although the works were very calculated and well thought through, the technique gives an impression of spontaneity and movement.  When looking at this specific painting, it almost looks like it is a frame within a frame within a frame.  This creates the illusion of volume and spatial depth.  The background is a series of abstract colours, very similar to some of his other paintings.  Furthermore, The Open Window contains a dazzling variety of brushstrokes, from long blended marks to short, staccato touches.  Matisse represented each area of the image with a distinctly different handling of the brush, creating a rythmic overall surface effect.

Comparing a painting to a window has also been a conventional recurrent theme in art theory since the Renaissance.  In making it the subject of his painting, Matisse allowed this painting to epitomize a new direction in modern art, where paintings develop an increasing autonomy from the things they depict.  The Open Window (and the painting-window metaphor) became a central motif in Matisse's oeuvre.

This 40 x 50cm version of this iconic and stunning Matisse painting is relatively challenging and has 28 colours.  Each box contains a stretched, printed and numbered canvas, paint, brushes and a page detailing the numbers for an extra reference.

Further reading:

https://www.henrimatisse.org/the-open-window.jsp

https://lewisartcafe.com/behind-the-most-abstract-matisse/