Henri Matisse Comparison

“But in fact, we do not perceive the elements one at a time but together, and almost any given work of art is not an example of one element but of many.” (Getlein, ??) Henri Matisse is able to brilliantly incorporate and connect many elements in two of his paintings, “The Joy of Life,” and “Dance.” The two works are very similar several ways, including the major artistic elements of color and line. However, they differ in many more instances including usage of artistic techniques including shadowing, as well as texture. As I compare and contrast these two works, I notice an overall style that is created by this artist who was known to paint using principles that would eventually be known as Fauvism.
At first glance, the two paintings seem

to be pretty uniquely colored. In Fauvism, colors are more elaborately manipulated in so that they become more independent and showcased in a particular piece (Geitlen, 2016). “The Joy of Life” is not limited to only primary or secondary colors, and it incorporates many hues in different ways. The human characters that are grouped together in close proximity within the piece are of the same or similar shade, while each grouping of characters are slightly different in coloring. They range from very light pale, to a more shaded maroon color. The background objects from one set to the next also range in colors, but many times they seem to blend as the scene goes on around the piece. For example, the grass is generally all a single shade of textured yellow, but as one’s eyes travel from one group to the next, the color dims or brightens into different tints and shades of yellow. Another example is when the same color is used for the two women in the middle but also in the sky. Colors are so recurring in this piece! They are found in different ways and in different saturations, but each scene within the painting uses generally the same handful of colors: yellow, red, green, blue, and orange. Because of this factor, I would say that the artist used a restricted palette, and this is also the case in his work, “Dance.” This piece strictly uses 5 different hues all in the same purpose. For example, the tan color is the same for each character; the brown hair is the same pigment in each head of hair; the darker color used for defining lines within the dancing humans is a uniform color in every instance of this shadowing technique. Each human is very similar in color this way, creating less variability from one character to the next. Uniqueness within each human is not abandoned as it is made up in other elements of art, especially line. In both pieces, the human characters are connected through color, just in different techniques.
When looking at the temperature of the colors, the pieces are very dissimilar. “Joy of Life” uses warm and cool colors and varies throughout the scenes depicted in this piece. In almost every instance of shadowing, one side use the warm color, red, while the opposite side uses a darker navy or green. I thought this was a very interesting aspect of the work. It almost leaves an uneasy feeling in me because colors do not represent shadows in real life, and this is definitely a manipulation of color common in artwork under the Fauvism movement. (Getlein, 2016). It does make the viewer think twice about the shadows and what they represent. Every time these colorful shadows are present, it brings focus to the curves in the humans and in the trees. In Matisse’s other piece, the background uses cool colors to create a bold background. Although the dancing figures have tan skin and brown hair, I feel that the overall piece has an absence of warm colors. This factor does not take away from the piece, but it just does not force the viewer’s eyes onto as many different kinds of color.
This selection of color in each of these works of Matisse’s create such lively and intense pieces.

For “Joy of Life,” there is not only so much going on with the design of the characters within the work, but the array of colors within each part make it even busier! The repeated use of color in different scenes makes one search for connection between the characters and between the backgrounds. Also, the colors are coupled with their bold complements at times, creating a little bit of competition. Nevertheless, I think the artist did a great job of balancing the color wheel in this piece. The colors in “Dance,” make for a simpler view as there are not as many busy designs within the color arrangement. It creates space for the viewer to reflect more on other aspects. The characters in this work are connected through very similar color patterns, so their connection is much easier seen and understood. One interesting thing I saw was the disjointed circle formation that was created when the artist kept the hands of two of the individuals unattached. It is not so obvious and distracting because the coloring is not disjointed because another body part replaces the gap. Overall, it is less overwhelming to visually look at than the other work, but this does not mean it is any less overwhelming to

feel.
Going back to the titles to draw in context from the painter, one can further investigate what each piece may portray. “Joy of Life” may be concerning the different walks of life and the simple joys within each. Sometimes, as color has proven to overlap, the joys within the different scenes of life are also similar. In many cases, the different characters seem joyous over simpler concepts such as community, singing and dancing, or nature. One interesting thing about characters in both paintings is that they are all nude. This factor rather stumped me, and I am still unsure of why the artist chose this representation. It changes the scene because it portrays more innocence because the people are enjoying the moment without superficial influences. As mentioned previously, the color of two individuals in the same scene of “Joy of Life” are the same, and this demonstrates a connection- a connection of experiencing joy together. This same concept is also present in “Dance,” as all of the characters are joining together through hand holding. Together, they are experiencing a passionate moment. I see this in how articulate their bodies are shaped and bending, similar to “Joy of Life.”
Two additional artistic elements that reinforce the color in Matisse’s works are line and texture. There is no doubt that the artist pulled emphasis on the curving lines within both of these pieces. The human figures are all bending and conforming in different ways, and the artist chose to bring our attention to the curves they are creating through the use of these colorful highlights and shadows. Generally, they are comfortable and pleasing curves to look at. None are very fast or obnoxious; most are flowy and appropriate. The human characters and surrounding landscape are full of colorful, curving lines. In “Joy of Life,” within one object, different hues are used to represent different parts such as the different colored branches on the tree. Texture is created in the piece through meshing different colors together within individual and multiple things. The individual scenes transition through the shift of background colors. I notice the top half of the piece, which is filled with more abstract background depictions, uses more loose and free use of texture while the characters and visible objects use texture to create shape. On the other hand, “Dance” creates most of the visible texture in the green and blue colors of the background. According to HenriMatisse.org, Matisse uses spatial ambiguity to explore the conflict between “illusion of depth and acknowledgement of the flatness of the canvas.”
In conclusion, these two pieces are similar in how Matisse creates connection between the different figures as well as the blending and curving of many lines. Where they clearly differ is how space is used. “Dance” leaves more room of plain color for the viewer, while “Joy of Life” leaves absolutely no blank room. After analyzing these works, I notice very similar characteristics of color that appear to pull the pieces under the same artist. “An artist must possess Nature. He must identify himself with her rhythm, by efforts that will prepare the mastery which will later enable him to express himself in his own language” (“Henri Matisse Quotes”). These two pieces reflect this quote by the artist himself as he captures his language in the depictions of these two paintings.