Henri mattisse, portrait of greta moll, 1908 Flashcards
year
1908
context: mattisse art school
mattisse opened up art school in 1908 ecouraged by sarah stein
sarah and mitchel stain (patrons of mattisse) funded the school
who were sarah and mitchel stein
sarah and mitchel stain (patrons of mattisse) funded the school
they brought new collectors to him and bough important works
supported mattisse and used their weekly open house to promote his art and ideas
they were supporters of european modernism
patron/commission
-first commissioned portrait
-oskar and margareta moll were among first of mattisses students at his art school
-mattisse offered to do portrait of her
-settled on 1000 francs and first refusal(gave mattisse artistic freedom)
molls context
-greta was a sculptress, painter and author
-molls possessed over 20 canvases by mattisse and more from Picasso
-oskar moll became director of Acedemy of fine art Berlin 1919
-kept mattisses works in modern house in berlin but it was bombed in the berlin bombing of 1943
how was mattisse given artistic freedom
-settled on 1000 francs and first refusal
-she sat for this portrait over 10 times
prominent forearms significance
inspired by ‘woman with child’ in the Louvre
cropping
-3/4 length and cropped to give impression of immediacy
figure
-wears high collard shirt that exposes her forearms and a black skirt
-female sitter gazes directly at viewer with bright eyes and half smile
what famous prop did he use
used his famous blue throw ‘foile de Jouy’ a prop used in several of his works
hung behind her
recalls his interest in textiles
pushes her further into plane
swirls and curves effect
evocative of sitters femininity
catagorises this as one of his ‘decorative portraits’ (effects more important than identity of the sitter)
what the focus of the painting
identity subsidary to the expression of the artist
colour
complimentary colour adds vitality
(orange table and green shirt) (yellow/orange wall and blue accents of throw)
brushwork
-crude brushstrokes and vibrant colours makes painting look spontaneous
-brushmarks are energetic bold and strong
space and depth
falttened space emphasised by flat patterned backdrop
-foile de jouy pushes her further into plane
what was matises artistic process
-placed cans so greta couldnt see him
-felt compelled to alter the whole colour scheme when he changed one colour
-blouse ended up being green but was once lavendar white
what was a key influence for this peice
mattise went on a break to the louvre and was inspired by the prominant forearms of ‘woman with child’
when and where was it publically presented
salon d’automne 1908
was one of the two portraits in his treatise: ‘notes of a painter’ published 1908
