The Matisse Exhibition

The exhibition was great. The Red Studio, painted in 1911 by Henri Matisse would prove a landmark for Matisse himself and for subsequent generations of artists. The painting depicts a section of Matisse’s studio, including eleven of his own artworks dating from the preceding thirteen years. At a late stage of the process, Matisse chose to cover two-thirds of the canvas in a distinctive red colour. This was one of the most complex experiments of Matisse’s career. The Red Studio came to serve as a proving ground for his radical rethinking of modern painting.

The exhibition has The Red Studio as its focal point and unpacks the history of the picture. It reassembles the group of artworks portrayed in the painting, and studies the meaning of each individual piece. The artworks are united here for the first time in more than 100 years, as they all left the artist’s studio not long after the painting was completed. The exhibition also delves into the background of the painting’s genesis, the artist’s uncertainties about what he had done and the lack of interest displayed by his contemporaries. Almost 40 years would pass by before The Red Studio finally found its place in history as one of Matisse’s most significant works. It is now considered a milestone in twentieth-century painting.

Today, The Red Studio belongs to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York and is a cornerstone of the museum’s collection, while three of the works depicted in the painting belong to SMK - the exhibition was created in a close collaboration between the two museums. It as a great exhibition that exposed much more of Henri Matisse’s development as an artist.Read more