Chapel of Saint Joseph, Saint Tropez 1904

Henri Matisse created this painting of the Chapel of Saint Joseph in Saint Tropez, using oil on canvas. The composition immediately strikes you with its interplay of light and shadow, the solid geometric forms creating a sense of depth and space. Matisse uses a limited palette, yet the subtle variations in tone—the blues of the sky meeting the whites of the building—evoke the warm, sun-drenched atmosphere of the French Riviera. Matisse was deeply interested in how color and form could convey emotion and meaning. Here, he simplifies the architectural details of the chapel, focusing instead on the essential shapes and their relationship to one another. This echoes a broader modernist interest in stripping away the superfluous, to reveal the underlying structure and essence of the subject. The flattening of perspective destabilizes traditional notions of representation. It asks us to reconsider how we perceive space and form. It challenges the viewer to engage with the painting not as a mere depiction but as an object in its own right. The brushstrokes, visible and deliberate, remind us of the artist's hand and the materiality of the paint itself.