View of the Seine, the Pont Saint-Michel by Henri Matisse

View of the Seine, the Pont Saint-Michel - Henri Matisse - Hand Painted Oil Painting

About This Piece

From the first sketch to the final varnish, View of the Seine, the Pont Saint-Michel is made by hand. Based on Henri Matisse's original. This fauvist oil painting wall decor is crafted on artist-grade canvas for anyone who wants fine art oil painting with the character of an original.

About the Artwork

Vue de la Seine, le Pont Saint-Michel, 1904
Oil on canvas

In February 1899, Matisse and his new bride Amélie returned to Paris having spent a year traveling to London, Corsica and Toulouse. They took an apartment in the same building as Matisse's closest friend Albert Marquet, at 19 Quai St. Michel, where they lived until 1907. Alfred H. Barr describes the stunning views from Matisse's apartment: "From the window of his apartment of the Quai St. Michel, Matisse could look east along the Seine to the Cathedral of Notre Dame on the opposite bank; and to the west, he could see the busy Pont St. Michel and beyond it the Palais de Justice on the Ile de la Cité with the pavilions of the Louvre in the distance. He painted these two vistas many times in the five years between 1899 and 1904" (in Matisse, His Art and His Public, New York, 1966, p. 69). The present work shows his view to the west, centered by the prominent arches of the Pont Saint-Michel with the tranquil course of the River Seine leading the eye toward the Louvre in the far distance at the horizon line.

Imbued with flat areas of vibrant colors, Vue de la Seine, le Pont Saint-Michel foreshadows Matisse's Fauve period and is an early indication of his status as the foremost colorist of the 20th century. Although the term "Fauvism" was not coined until 1905, fellow painter André Derain later claimed "From around 1900 a kind of fauvism held sway," while Marquet similarly dated its beginnings "as early as 1898 [when] Matisse and I were working in what was later called the fauve manner. The first showing of the Indépendants in which, I believe, we were the only painters to express ourselves in pure colours, took place in 1901" (quoted in J. Elderfield, The 'Wild Beasts' Fauvism and its Affinities, New York, 1976, p. 18).

Painted early on in his career, Vue de la Seine, le Pont Saint-Michel epitomizes Matisse's vital transition from painting in the Neo-Impressionist style toward Fauvism. The deliberate contrast between the brilliant colors, the tonal uniformity and lack of modulation in the color planes, and the architecture broken down into nearly abstract, geometric forms all hint at Matisse's later revolutionary flattening of the picture plane and firmly establish his unrivaled mastery of color.

Collectors often choose this fine art image when searching for fine art oil painting that feels substantial rather than decorative or disposable.

100% Hand Painted on Canvas

From primer to varnish, the work is done manually on artist-grade canvas. The absence of digital printing is deliberate: it keeps the fine art brushwork visible and gives the fauvist oil painting wall decor a museum-like finish.

Specifications & What You Receive

• A true oil-on-canvas painting produced manually by our artists — not a mass-produced print.
• Supplied with a 2-inch blank border on all four sides for flexible dining room display options.
• We dispatch worldwide ourselves, so there are no middlemen in the chain.
• Available canvas sizes for this hand painted oil painting: 20 X 24 in, 24 X 36 in, 30 X 40 in, 36 X 48 in, 48 X 72 in.
• Custom sizes available: order this painting in your preferred dimensions.
• Flexible shipping through DHL, UPS, FedEx, USPS and partner networks.
• We stretch your canvas onto wooden bars at no extra charge, and can arrange custom framing.
• A digital photo of your finished painting is emailed for approval before shipment.

Styling & Placement

As dining room wall art, this canvas brings color and texture without visual noise. It scales well from a small study to a large dining room feature wall, and it is a reliable choice when shopping for fine art oil painting as a gift.

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