Matisse Copy
6x6in oil on canvas board $85.
Detail: Still Life with Oranges ( Nature Morte aux Oranges ou Corbeille d'oranges) 1912
Doing this copy by Matisse - the greatest of all the Fauves - reminded me of what a master he was of pure design. Every area of the painting I made this detail from, is perfect.
Doing the research for this small painting I was interested to learn that when he was hospitalized as a young man, the other occupant in his room was copying etchings in color so Henri asked his mother for colored pencils so he could try his hand at it. He loved it and the rest is history. He started his art career at 20 years of age which was late in comparison to Picasso, (his future rival) who, when at the same age, will have already completed almost a thousand works.
Like Picasso, Matisse was a great experimenter with paint application but he knew early on the basic structure the direction his art would go and wrote: " Everything that is unnecessary in a painting is detrimental to it." He was true to this principle from his first to the last of his works.
Matisse used the flat color technique and would often repaint these areas in another hue. It may look simple but the complexity is profound and I value what I learned during this research.
