【Art & Design English-44】How Matisse Revolutionized Colour In Art (馬蒂斯如何徹底改變藝術中的色彩)

How Henri Matisse Revolutionised Color In Art Okay, so here are two desaturated paintings by the French artist Henri Matisse. The left one is called The Dinner Table and was painted in 1896, and the right one is called Open Window, Calliore, and was painted a decade later in 1905. What do you think the colors are like in the first one, the one on the left? Does that match your expectation? I bet it does. Now, what about the other painting, this view of boats from an open window? Is that what you expected? Okay, what about this painting from five years later in 1910 of dancers? Are those really the colors that you thought you were going to see? If not, you're not the only one. On October 1st, 1910, Matisse debuted this painting called Dance at the Autumn Salon in Paris, and to say that it wasn't well-received is an understatement. A few critics applauded the boldness of the painting, but most attacked it savagely, and the public was no kinder. They crowded in front of the massive canvas and shouted insults at it, jeering, laughing, Unfortunately, this was not new for Matisse. Five years earlier, at the Autumn Salon of 1905, he exhibited a number of paintings that got a similar response, including this one, Open Window, from before, and this one, Woman with a Hat. The critic Louis Vaucelles disparaged Matisse and the other painters who were using colors in revolutionary new ways as wild beasts, or fauves in French, and that was how fauvism was born. Well, that was how the name was born, anyway. The style of painting was born in the mind of Matisse and a loose affiliation of other artists. As early as 1898, when Matisse was in Corsica with his wife, he began gradually to lean into the dramatic power of color. In a painting like The Old Mill, for example, you can see him taking the lessons of the Impressionists, using short strokes of pure, unblended color to capture the flickering, transient quality of the light, but also liberating that color so that it's not strictly representational, but emotional and personal. I mean, look at the difference between this painting and The Dinner Table from the beginning of this video. Look at the difference that two years can make. In 1902, he pushed the colors even further away from representation in his paintings of the Luxembourg Gardens, and by 1904, when he was spending the summer at Saint-Tropez, a coastal fishing village in southern France, Matisse's colors exploded. The most important painting to come out of that trip is this one, The Gulf of Saint-Tropez, which he reworked when he returned to Paris into one of his most famous paintings, Luxury, Calm and Voluptuousness. See, in Saint-Tropez, Matisse was joined by Paul Signac, one of the leaders of Neo-Impressionism, who applied scientific color theories to the technique of the Impressionists, and developed a style where you put small dots of contrasting colors on the canvas, and when the viewer stands at a distance, the dots mix optically and generate more luminous colors. Signac's theory is called divisionism, and the technique is called pointillism. I know, too many isms. The most famous execution of this style, you probably know, is Georges Girard's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Now, going back to Matisse's painting, you can clearly see the influence of Signac and divisionism, but you can also feel Matisse forging his own path. His colors are rebelling against their subjects. The painting is anarchic, fantastical, it's pulsing with wild energy. The next summer in 1905, Matisse followed that energy to Collioure, another fishing village in southern France, and let loose. Colors became sticks of dynamite, he said, and then detonated them across his canvases. And then those canvases detonated the 1905 Salon, where he was labeled a wild beast. The reaction really isn't surprising. Even now, more than a century later, these paintings still retain their defiant power. The colors still sing with the daring, the creative recklessness of that summer. As Hilary Sperling says, Matisse was attempting to overturn a way of seeing evolved and been accepted by the Western world for centuries. He was substituting for their illusion of objectivity a conscious subjectivity, a 20th-century art that would draw its validity essentially from the painter's own visual and emotional responses. The critics didn't appreciate what Matisse was doing, but thankfully, a few collectors did. Namely, the American Sarah Stein and her in-laws Leo and Gertrude Stein, as well as the Russian businessman Sergei Shchukin. Shchukin was at the Salon of Independence in 1906, where he saw Matisse's Joy of Life, a painting that Signac hated and that the public laughed at with even greater intensity than they did at the first Fauvist paintings just a few months before. Shchukin, though, he was mesmerized. For the next decade, he gave Matisse financial and moral support while the French art establishment derided him during arguably his most experimental and, I think, most exciting period. You see, in his Fauvist years, Matisse used non-naturalistic colors to generate an emotional response. But after this, he learned how to use color to define form itself. Influenced by Cezanne, by Giotto, by African and Islamic art, his new paintings were flatter, simplified, more abstract, and used large areas of uniform color to compose scenes not of real life, not even of real life transformed by new colors, but scenes that expressed deep, primal feelings and rhythms. In 1909, Shchukin commissioned two giant panels to be hung in his Moscow mansion. Matisse wanted one of them to express energy and, above all, movement. He remembered a scene from Collioure in 1905 when Catalan fishermen pulled him into a dancing ring and whipped him around violently on the beach. A version of this memory can be found in The Joy of Life, but now Matisse endeavored to recapture this scene with a new style and new tools. The result is dance, a masterpiece of energy consisting of just three colors, blue, green, and the shocking scarlet of the naked, dancing, leaping, spinning figures who are less like people than mythological satyrs. That red vibrates off the background and captures exactly the movement Matisse intended. It took him almost a year to make this painting, and the public hated it. I guess that's the way it goes sometimes. You can't expect the instantaneous acceptance of something radically new. If it was accepted, it wouldn't be radical. With the perspective of a century, knowing the directions that modern art went in, we now can appreciate the full significance of Matisse's work. We can be shocked by it without being scandalized. We can marvel at the creative distance that he travelled in just 14 years, after which color was never the same. Hey everybody, thank you so much for watching.
References (optional) Henri Matisse Paintings: From Fauvism to Final Works What is Art For? Discussion Questions (Art) How great is your interest in art? What’s the best art gallery you’ve been to? Do you like modern art? What do you think of installation art? Do you ever think a lot of art is not really art? Do you have a favorite artist? What kind of art do you like – paintings, sculpture, ceramics, etc.? What is art? Does art change the way you think or feel? Do you think anyone can be an artist, or do you need a special talent? Do you think all children should study art at school? Do you think children should learn the history of art? Do you think a painting can really be worth a million (or more) dollars? Do you think today’s artists are as good as those from hundreds of years ago? What was the last painting/poster/piece of art you bought? Why did you buy it? Describe the pieces of artwork in your house. What kind of art is your country famous for? What kind of life do you think an artist’s is? Do you have any artistic talents? How would the world be different without artists? Discussion Questions (Design) How would you define design? How do you know if something is designed well? Do you think design is important? Why? Have you ever designed anything? What are some well-designed products? What are some poorly designed products? Are there any designers you admire? Have you done any interior design in your home? What are some examples of good design that you appreciate? Why? How does design influence our daily experiences and interactions with products and environments? Can you think of any iconic designs or designers that have made a significant impact on society? What are some key principles or elements of design? How does cultural and historical context influence design aesthetics? Can you describe a design project or process that you have been involved in or observed? How does user experience (UX) design contribute to the functionality and usability of products and services? What role does sustainability play in design? Share examples of environmentally conscious design practices. How can design be used to solve social and humanitarian challenges? What are some current trends in design that you find interesting? How does technology influence the field of design? Discuss the impact of digital tools and software. Can you think of any examples of design that have sparked controversy or provoked discussions? How can design be inclusive and accessible to people with diverse abilities and backgrounds? Can you share any examples of designs that evoke specific emotions or create a particular atmosphere? How does design differ across various disciplines, such as graphic design, industrial design, or interior design? What are some ethical considerations in design? Discuss the responsibility of designers towards users and society. Can you think of any design failures or instances where poor design affected the user experience? What lessons can be learned from them? How can design thinking be applied beyond traditional design fields to problem-solving and innovation? What skills and qualities do you think are essential for a successful career in design? How has technology influenced the field of graphic design in recent years? Can you think of any examples of design that successfully blend form and function? Explain why they are effective. How does cultural diversity influence design aesthetics and the portrayal of different cultures in design? What are some key considerations in designing user interfaces for mobile applications? Can you describe a design project that aims to address sustainability or environmental issues? How does typography contribute to the overall design and message of printed materials? What are some effective ways to gather user feedback during the design process? How can color psychology be utilized in design to evoke specific emotions or convey certain messages? Can you think of any examples where design played a crucial role in shaping a company’s brand identity? What are the main differences between designing for print media and designing for digital media? How can design be used to improve accessibility for individuals with disabilities? Can you describe a design trend that you find intriguing? Why do you think it has gained popularity? How does packaging design influence consumer perception and purchasing decisions? What ethical considerations should designers keep in mind when creating advertisements or marketing materials? How has social media influenced the field of design and the way designers showcase their work? Can you think of any innovative design solutions that have improved people’s lives in developing countries? What are some challenges in designing for virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) experiences? How does design impact the gaming industry, particularly in terms of user interface and user experience? Can you describe a famous architectural design that has become an iconic landmark? What makes it significant? How do cultural symbols and icons influence design choices, especially in international contexts? Discussion Questions (Art Culture) How often do you go to art museums? Do you consider yourself to be artistic? What do you think about modern art paintings? How many forms of art can you name? What is your favorite form of art? Is graffiti art? Why or why not? What is the most famous statue in your country? Who is your favorite artist? Why do you like them so much? Do you think that art is important to society? Why? Have you ever tried drawing, painting, sculpting, or something else artistic? What is the most famous painting in your country? What is traditional art like in your culture? What country do you think is the most creative? Why is art so expensive? Do you think it should be more, or less, expensive? Do you have any artistic friends? What kinds of art do they create?