Henri Matisse (1869–1954)
»La Coiffure (The Coiffure)«

1907, Oil on canvas, © Succession H. Matisse/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2003

In his treatment of this traditional subject, which clearly recalls Renoir’s »La Coiffure«, a work painted in 1883, Matisse visualises his concept of the human body as an »architecture of interlocking, mutually supporting forms«.

The outlines of his female duo form an acute triangle within which significant correspondences become evident: the reciprocal inclination of the heads and the echoing angular attitudes of the arms and legs. The sketchlike conception of the figures and their pleating outlines serve to articulate the structures and rhythms of their limbs and bodies. The exposure of formal regularities in the style of Cézanne goes hand in hand with a rigorous surface-orientation and the development of colour autonomy. Thus the cool light-green of the cloth on the chair appears without transition immediately alongside the clear green of the maid’s dress. Such rough attacks on the traditions of French painting earned Matisse and his like-minded fellow artists the name »Fauves« (savages). [ KvM ]