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Canberra Today 14°/16° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Sea and summer unite the works of Matisse and Picasso

Henri Matisse, ‘Still Life with Sleeping Woman,’ 1940, oil on canvas, collection of Mr and Mrs Paul Mellon, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.

Visual art / “Matisse & Picasso”.  At the National Gallery of Australia until April 13. Reviewed by JOHN LANDT.

SUMMER, the sea and the south of France unite the works of Matisse and Picasso in this exhibition.

The sea breeze has a tangible presence as it enters the spacious, light-filled room in Matisse’s “Woman by a Window” of circa 1920-22. The simple forms of the fish in Picasso’s “Still Life” of 1937 and “The Soles” of 1940 are arranged simply, the colours contrast and combine harmoniously – the feeling is of relaxation; peaceful days at the coast.

The difference between the works of Matisse and Picasso rests with the women. And it is jarring.

Matisse’s female subjects appear relaxed. There is contentment, in “Still Life with Sleeping Woman” (1940), and sensuality in “Reclining Nude on a Pink Couch” (1919).

There are memories of travels in northern Africa and the Levant, as in “Seated Odalisque” (1926).

Pablo Picasso, ‘La Lecture,’ 1932, Musée Picasso, Paris, Photo RMN-Grand Palais Mathieu Rabeau.

Nearby, six versions of the same woman’s head are taken apart and reassembled by Picasso in the series “Portrait of Dora Maar” (1939). He said he was trying to reveal her underlying self. More likely, he was revealing his own misogyny. Maar summed it up herself: “First the plinth, then the doormat”.

In contrast, Picasso’s “Guitar on a Table” (1912) shows how a simple scene could convey an invigorating sense of energy and lightness, simply through combining a few charcoal lines with a collaged piece of wallpaper.

Other notable works in this exhibition include Matisse’s “Trivaux Pond” (1916-17), where the viewer is drawn into the dynamic interplay of spaces within a forest landscape, reminiscent of works by Paul Cézanne.

Finally, I found the unusual colours chosen for the exhibition walls, pastel shades of pink and green, to be a distraction. Both artists are gifted colourists and the colours on the walls alter the balance of colours within the works. Particularly problematic is the muting of skin tones in Matisse’s works.

 

 

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Helen Musa

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