INTRODUCTION
“What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter - a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.”
Henri Matisse
Who was Henri Matisse?
Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse (1869–1954) is celebrated alongside Picasso as one of the defining figures of modern art. He believed that art should be like "a good armchair," a place of rest and joy.
In this course we will explore the life and revolutionary vision of one of the 20th century's greatest artists. We will examine his bold approach to color, his emphasis of line and form, his fascination with windows and interiors, and his ongoing push towards simplification.
No prior art experience is required, only curiosity, a willingness to play, and the desire to see the world a little differently. Each module blends art history, critical looking, and hands-on studio practice so that you leave not just with skills, but with a genuinely deeper understanding of why Matisse still matters.
Henri Matisse Etching (1900 - 1903)
Matisse’s Early Years 1869-1908
Video Password: Early
Video Length: 9:43
LESSON ONE
How Color Changed the World
The Beginnings of a New Way of Painting
“With color one obtains an energy that seems to stem from witchcraft.”
Henri Matisse
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Collioure, France
Collioure, France
Where Matisse and Derain Changed the Art World Forever
Henri Matisse and André Derain painted together in the South of France in 1905 in the small and colorful town of Collioure. The resulting paintings radically changed the way artists use color. The photo here gives us some idea of the brilliant and inspiring “feast for the eyes” they must have experienced.
The video below, created by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, beautifully describes the relationship between Derain and Matisse. It’s hard to imagine the impact that these works had at the time because we are so used to seeing color used this way now, but try to imagine if this was the first time you had seen objects painted with expressive, bright, saturated colors instead of realistic and naturalistic colors.
Notice also, the vibrancy of the paintings in this video. Books and online sources do not truly capture the brilliance of the paint colors.
A gallery of Matisse’s Fauvist paintings from 1904 -1907
Master of Color
Before we can paint like Matisse, we need to understand his extraordinary command of color. Not necessarily rules to follow but principles he knew so deeply that he could break them with authority. First let’s review basic color terminology to make sure that we are all speaking the same color language before we further our color study.
Color Language
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A color family such as Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Violet, and Orange. We can break these down further into Yellow-Green, Red-Orange, etc. Every color belongs to a color family, thus, every color has a “hue.”
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The brightness or INTENSITY of a color. We also sometimes use the word SATURATED. Cadmium Red Light (for instance) straight from the tube is an example of high-chroma, saturated color. A low chroma color is generally a more NEUTRAL color such as a grey or earth tone color.
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Degree of lightness or darkness of a color. The color (hue) is not important in this definition, only how light or dark the color is relative to white and black. (Think of a black and white photo of your painting).
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The true color of an object, as opposed to the way it may appear in certain lighting conditions, at a distance, or in contrast with other colors.
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When two (or more) objects are near each other, the color of each may be reflected on the other. Imagine an orange next to a white pitcher. The side of the pitcher may take on (reflect) some of the orange color.
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Every color is either WARM or COOL. This can be confusing to new painters in particular because color can be in a warm hue family but be cool relative to another color in their family. For example, Quinachridone Red is in the family of Red (warm) but it is a cool color relative to Cadmium Red Light.
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Colors opposite each other on the color wheel.
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Three to four colors next to each other on the color wheel. Another way to darken or lighten a color is to add an analogous color.
Color Wheel
What Matisse Knew About Color
Matisse’s Singing Palette
The "singing palette" is a term used to describe the quality that results when colors in a painting seem to vibrate, resonate, or literally sing against each other rather than sitting inertly on the canvas.
Matisse described color less like a painter and more like a musician — talking about notes, chords, and harmony. The singing palette is essentially the visual equivalent of a chord: individual colors that, in combination, produce something greater than any of them alone.
The core idea comes from how certain color combinations create an optical and emotional intensity that no single color could produce alone. It's less about which specific colors you use, and more about the relationships between them.
What creates it:
Matisse understood that complementary colors (those opposite each other on the color wheel) placed side by side at full saturation, intensify each other dramatically. Each color makes the other appear more vivid than it would look in isolation. A red placed next to a green doesn't just sit there, it vibrates.
But a singing palette isn't simply "use complementaries." Matisse added crucial nuance:
Value is KEY. Firstly, Matisse’s “wild” Fauvist colors would typically match the value of the original local color of the subject. Secondly, complementary colors of the same value vibrate more then colors of different values.
Proportion matters. A small note of orange against a large field of blue creates more electricity than equal amounts of each. He controlled the ratio carefully.
Temperature contrast adds to it. Warm colors (reds, oranges, yellows) placed against cool colors (blues, violets, cool greens) create a spatial tension. The warm colors appear to advance, and the cool to recede. This illusion adds to the vibrancy.
Saturation must be managed. If every color is at full intensity all at once, the result is noise, not music. Matisse would include a quieter, more neutral passages for contrast and to give the eye a place of rest.
See if you can spot these concepts of a “Singing Palette” in this painting, “The Woman with the Hat.”
Matisse’s Knowledge of Color Relativity
All color is relative. No color exists in isolation.
Every color is defined by its neighbors.
If you find color confusing, you are not alone. Watch this video to understand some reasons why and learn more about Color Relativity.
Password: Color
Video Length: 10:34
Color Project One
Playing with Color Relativity – Play like a child and study color relativity at the same time!!
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Length : 5:10
NOTE: Feel free to select your own compositions or those of another artist for this project as well.
SUZANNE - I WANT THE BELOW LINE DRAWINGS TO BE PDF’S so they can print them out.
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Color Project Two
Paint like a Fauve!!
Gallery of Reference photos
If you like the vintage look, simply search for “vintage photos of women",” or “vintage photos of women in hats.” etc. for more images. Click on image for full view.
A Gallery of Photo Reference Ideas
Click on images for full view
Lesson Two
Drawing, Line and Simplification
Drawing and Line in Matisse’s Work
“One must always search for the desire of the line, where it wishes to enter or where to die away.” ~ Matisse
Daily Drawing
When we talk about Matisse, we have to include a lesson on line as it was essential to his work.
Matisse loved to draw and did so every day. He aimed for efficiency and how to describe something with the fewest and the most expressive lines. This can readily be seen in the gallery of images below.
In the drawing on the right we see his process in finding the form and shape of the figure. Lines are drawn, rubbed out and drawn again until he was satisfied with the overall expression. He perfectly captures the woman’s lean into the pillow (sofa?) and shoulder turn as she glances backwards. Her hands are both resting and active. You can feel how she moved and adjusted into this pose.
Gallery of Contour Drawings
Things to notice:
The drawings are not “perfect,” yet they describe the essence of the subject.
There is an efficiency of line. Only essential lines were drawn.
Quality of Line: the images with heavier lines show a focus on the quality of the line. Thin, thick, narrow to wide, etc.
Contour Drawing Project
Let’s have some fun with playful contour drawings. No pressure to be perfect. Just express yourself with line!
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Painting and Line Project
Matisse used line frequently in his paintings as well. Objects were outlined intentionally and lines were also included to give directionality. In this project we will paint a figure specifically concentrating on including line in the composition.
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LESSON THREE
Interiors and Windows