Essay on Henri Matisse
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In 1907 Matisse's partiality for the Fauvist freedom faded and his interest in the work of Cezanne was rekindled, he begun experimenting with various figure/background relationships, also perhaps relating to some of Van Gogh’s portraits. The Girl with Green Eyes is one of those compositions. The figure and background compete for dominance, yet they are formally linked. The curves all over the painting link together, the embroidery on her robe, the sculpture in the background and the soft curves of her face.
The brush strokes are free and expressive as the figure almost blends into the background, there are arabesque patterns all over the canvas but because of the brushwork they are made somewhat blurred and suggested. It is the happy, bold color of this portrait, which makes the initial impact. Matisse has taken his Fauvist palette and made it richer, the open areas of bare canvas are gone, which cheered up and de-formalized his landscapes and figures in his work of 1905-6. In The Girl with Green Eyes, complementary colors are adjoined and loud, and closely hued areas are contrasting.
There is a correlation in this painting, it relates to many of Van Gogh’s portraits, there is the use of outlines, a very common trait in Van Gogh’s art, the background and composition, although probably inspired by Cezanne, shows traits from Van Gogh’s portrait of his art dealer.
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