I’m not an art expert. But I adore art. My perfect day would always include a visit to a gallery. I love that I can wander among so many beautiful things. I love the sense that artists have left something of themselves behind in their paintings. My favourite artists are very different. I love Edward Hopper because of the light he creates and the loneliness of many of his subjects. Degas because of the delicacy of his ballerinas even when they’re stretching. And I love Matisse because of the incredible colours.
Colours are infinitely varied so blue, for example, has many shades, and changes depending on the other colours that are around it. Matisse understood how to place different colours together so that each appears more vibrant. He’s recognised as a master of colour.
Of all his works I love Matisse’s paper collages the most. Some are huge. All are vivid and full of imagination. And yet they are so simple.
Matisse produced his collages at a time in his life when he was too weak to stand in front of a canvas all day. His assistant would paint paper in the colours he wanted to use, while he sat in his wheel chair carving out the forms he imagined with scissors. Matisse would then tell his assistant exactly how to pin each piece of carved paper onto a background on the walls of his studio. When he found the balance of form and colour that he wanted – months or even years later – the finished piece would be glued to a canvas.
Beautiful, simple, memorable, inspiring. I love them all.
“Colours have their own distinctive beauty that you have to preserve… It is a question of...finding the arrangement that will keep the beauty and freshness of the colour.” Matisse
Stay tuned for the next installment in this Celebrating Spring series, No one does colour better than...
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(Images: Henri Matisse)
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