Music 1939

Curator: This is "Music," an oil painting Henri Matisse created in 1939. You can find it here at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. Editor: Oh, what a burst of color. I'm getting a playful, almost Matisse-meets-Cubism vibe, but with a touch of... well, let's just say, a primitive echo in the simplification of forms? Curator: Indeed! He simplified quite a lot. Note the almost aggressively flat planes of color—the blue dress, that fiery red backdrop. No blending or shading. The fauvist influence still resonates, wouldn't you say? The arbitrary use of intense colors... Editor: Absolutely. The bold outlines, the non-naturalistic skin tones. The woman in yellow reminds me of a lemon drop—sweet and slightly tart. There's a raw honesty in the way he portrays them, unidealized, direct. And look, what appears as decoration around her chair turns into tiny white scrawls: x,o. Did Matisse consider childhood? Curator: I love your reading of the work. It invites multiple interpretations, absolutely. Let’s explore those elements further; examine how he balances the geometric with the organic. Those monsteras on the backdrop seem like silent audience. Notice too how the painting balances warm colors such as red, oranges, yellows, and blues with smaller shapes. A true feast of the eyes. Editor: Silent, or maybe subtly humming in tune. The shapes become almost abstract, dissolving the concrete figures in the interplay of pigment. There is almost a musical staff in the lower right too, it grounds the composition for me. Is that sheet music to emphasize the theme of musical performance and how these figures, together, may contribute a verse. It seems less concerned with depicting a scene of reality and more with orchestrating a symphony of shapes and color? Curator: Precisely! The women might serve less as portraits than vessels, the guitar becomes an extension of their inner feelings… a vessel to fill with vibrations. Editor: It's a work of liberation and honesty. Thank you so much, your remarks are truly helping me better feel these harmonies between color, gesture, music, and forms. Curator: Anytime, there is an openness to the way he captures subjects I hope we can both continue appreciating through all our perspectives.