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Matisse is another of the great names of Fauvism. Influenced by certain Post-Impressionists such as Cezanne, Gauguin and Van Gogh, as well as by Japanese art, Matisse made colour the main feature of his work.
He began to paint at the age of twenty, when he was convalescing from appendicitis. His mother always firmly supported of her son, and she brought him painting materials and helped him to discover his vocation.
At the beginning of his career, he painted a large number of still-lifes, amongst them this one, which features the yellows brushstrokes that focus the composition. During this period, his palette became darker, probably due to the sad events that occurred in his life that year, due to the bankruptcy of his in-laws, which also ruined his own family.
In 1910, he travelled to Spain, spending some time in Seville and Granada. This journey inspired other works, full of light and colour, and featuring Andalusian motifs. From here he moved to Morocco, where he delved further into arabesque themes, with rich fabrics and colours, and Mediterranean light.
(c) (R) 2013, MUSMon com S.L.
Text (a) Catalina Serrano Romero
Photo: Portrait of Henri Matisse, 1933 (a) Author: Carl Van Vechten potograph collection. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Van Vechten Collection, reproduction number LC-USZ62-103699 DLC Source: Wikipedia (As the restrictions on this collection expired in 1986, the Library of Congress believes this image is in the public domain.)
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