The Chapel of Vence: Art and Enlightenment

The Chapel of Vence: Art and Enlightenment

Best known for his use of color, Henri Matisse cleverly cultivated his status as a modern artist using many different styles of painting from Impressionism to Fauvism. The artwork of Matisse has been a milestone in the history of painting. Henri Matisse’s self-proclaimed masterpiece, however, a chapel in Vence, France, is a small, minimalist building. The amalgamation of modern art and the sacred creates a unique spiritual experience in that it welcomes Christians and non-Christians alike to appreciate the artist’s religious symbolism. The elegantly simple architecture of the chapel, the use of light in the space, and the binary of colors on opposite walls have a calming, cleansing, and transformative effect that is undeniable.

Matisse’s design takes a new turn into the modern technique, with clean lines and new influence of nature. A tall structure decorated with crescent moons that simultaneously resembles a steeple and a bell tower greets the visiting pilgrim from afar beckoning through sight and sound. Upon approach, the cross at the top of this extremity indicates the building’s religious affiliation. The interior of the chapel is not particularly ornate nor very large, but the white stone walls create an enormous sense of space. The chapel is L-shaped and the altar is placed at an angle where the two portions of the structure meet. This minimalist aesthetic in which the design is reduced to the necessary elements creates an impression of extreme simplicity by enlisting every feature to serve multiple functional and visual purposes, such as the windows that provide light and color to the chapel.

Architecture, when used as a means of personifying principles of harmony, can turn ...

... middle of paper ...

..., transcendental lighting, and color contrast. No less is this a religious experience than the visits to classic cathedrals that dominate the French landscape from the shores of Mont St. Michel, to the Ile de la Cite’s Notre Dame, to the countless other examples of the French expression of faith through architecture. I must admit to surprise at this overwhelming reaction on my part to Matisse’s talent as an architect and designer. Winding up the mountains to this remote convent, my mind questioned the wisdom of the trek as my comrades enjoyed the Riviera once more at the beach and I thought to myself, just one more church. Never did I expect such a transcendental experience as my visit to this modern masterpiece. Long after the suntans will fade, my memory of this place will deepen my appreciation of Matisse’s art and the importance of the effect of art on culture.