When I visited New York recently, my friend Becky invited me to see the newly curated exhibit of The Red Studio at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Thank you, Becky!
I present to you: The Red Studio, by Henri Matisse
Over the years, Henri Matisse’s The Red Studio has been known by a number of names: Panneau Rouge (Red Panel), The Artist’s Studio, The Studio, and L’Atelier, all describing the place that was so dear to Henri as he blossomed in his new studio located just outside Paris. Created in 1911, this painting lived a long, and for many years, unremarkable life.
But for this artist, The Red Studio has been a touchstone of inspiration, guidance, and development for most of my adult life. For 50 years, I’ve been intimately attached to and happily involved with this painting.
Countless times I have stood before this artwork, which is a massive 6 x 7¼ feet, becoming completely immersed in it, overcome with a sense of reverence and awe, and learning from this painting, this master, what line, color and form mean—to Matisse and to me.
Why? What exactly is it that inspires me about this particular painting?
The Red Studio by Henri Matisse (detail)
-That red color : Venetian!
The Red Studio by Henri Matisse (detail)
.-The seemingly sketched aspect of the painting, which, I am sure, Matisse struggled and struggled with and worked and re-worked, and which was certainly not as “off the cuff” as it appears.
-The way the yellow underpainting glows through the spaces between the red, creating not a line, but the absence of a line. A work of magic; an extraordinary creation.
The grandfather clock stands guard in the quiet room. The artworks in progress, or completed, are lined up on the floor, the wall, the table—everywhere. Sculpture, ceramics, paintings . . . so much creative output Matisse had!
I’m hesitant to read or watch too many interpretations of Matisse’s work, lest they disrupt my very intimate relationship with him. But if you are interested in this topic, I suggest looking at the MoMA press page for this exhibit, which is succinct and informative.
I also urge you to see the Curator’s discussion of The Red Studio’s underpainting and Matisse’s final addition of the Venetian red paint before he considered the work finished.
But back to my personal experience with Matisse. Athens Art & Frame wrote in a featured artist interview with me in March 2021, “Henri Matisse is a primary influence for René, who says ‘His brevity of lines and use of color has taught me much more than I ever learned in college.’ Everyday beauty is the subject of much of René’s work, which she makes to “help others see what is in their everyday environment with new eyes.”
L'Église Saint-Merri by René Shoemaker
My 2014 painting of a woven chair I discovered at the Église Saint-Merri in Paris reflects a bit of Matisse influence in the confidence of the lines and in the saturated color red. I have studied Matisse’s drawn lines up close, devouring his process, his confident hand, and his wild colors. What I learn from studying his paintings and drawings sinks deep into my psyche, to be released when I, in turn, stand before my own blank “canvas.”
Example of Matisse's sureness of hand: Study of a Woman 1911
.The MoMA exhibit was set up quite nicely, with the room laid out as if you were in the studio (like my first solo exhibit in 2001) while looking around at the physical things that inspired Matisse.
There are two more galleries that make up the exhibit; one presents a history of the physical painting, relating where it has been and the places it has traveled (and who refused ownership of it!). The most interesting part of this history is that The Red Studio painting graced the wall of a ballroom for many years. (There is still hope for all the art I have exhibited in cafés and restaurants, don’t you think?)
The third room is a collection of Matisse artwork that MoMA, The National Gallery of Denmark (where the exhibit will travel to next), and others own, gathered together for a brief review of related work.
Ahh Matisse, won’t you come back and visit me? Please?
Cyclamen, 1911 by Henri Matisse
“The thing is, it is very courageous,” says Anny Aviram, senior painting conservator, of Matisse’s act of quickly covering his canvas in red, thereby creating a very modern painting that was really like no other.
Museum of Modern Art, NYC
Tell me, who is your favorite artist? Who inspires you and why? I love the way art speaks to everyone differently; it really does create a unique view of the world!