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From the first sketch to the final varnish, Woman in Blue 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 portrait oil painting with the character of an original.
1937
Oil on canvas
Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA, United States.
Matisse had an odd relationship with portraits, painting them quite often while still remarking: "No. I seldom paint portraits and if I do only in a decorative manner." John Klein believes that Matisse's statement asserts that "self-expression" was his priority.{ref1} It also implies that the sitter's expectations were not one of Matisse's main concerns either; what mattered most were the dictates of his art. Take, for example, his Woman in Blue.
It has long been known that Matisse's woman is based on Ingres' portrait of Madame Moitessier{ref2} whose finger pressed against her temple signifies mental activity, an unusual feature for a nineteenth-century depiction of a woman awash in expensive fabrics. Social butterflies were not thought to think.
However, no-one has noted that Ingres' Moitessier (near left) is a slightly plumper and older version of how he had portrayed Raphael's "muse and mistress", La Fornarina, 42 years earlier (far left). This means that Moitessier's portrait is not just that of a rich man's wife but of Ingres' muse. Matisse would certainly have known that.
Matisse's woman, like Ingres', has an index finger on her temple but Matisse's points. We have shown elsewhere that a pointing finger often "paints" but here an enormous hand takes aim at her brain and eye.{ref4} Concisely expressed, all three of an artist's most important symbols for the self are represented in that one gesture: the hand, eye and mind.{ref5} In short, Matisse's Woman in Blue, whose ginger hair would have matched Matisse's when young, represents the fertile feminine half of the artist's androgynous mind, as Mme. Moitessier, La Fornarina, the Mona Lisa and Parmigianino's Anthea do too. She is both subject and object of Matisse's art; she "paints" herself.
The figurative subject is rebuilt stroke by stroke in oil, giving the finished canvas the depth expected of fauvist oil painting wall decor.
Oil on canvas remains the reference standard for fauvist reproductions. Our artists apply pigment by hand, blending the figurative tones directly on the surface for depth that a printed portrait oil painting simply cannot match.
fauvist canvas wall art is one of the easiest ways to warm an entryway. Pair this piece with natural linen, dark wood, or brushed brass, and let the hand painted surface do the rest.
Browse our Henri Matisse Paintings selection for related figurative canvases, or commission this figurative image in a custom size. Every order is a hand painted oil painting, never a printed poster.
| Size | Price |
|---|---|
| 20 X 24 in | $58.48 |
| 24 X 36 in | $91.98 |
| 30 X 40 in | $123.48 |
| 36 X 48 in | $176.98 |
| 48 X 72 in | $329.48 |
The sizes shown are the reproduction canvas sizes we paint to order. The dimensions given in a work's description refer to the original artwork and will differ from the sizes offered here. Not sure? Read the size guide or e-mail us.
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Every canvas is painted by hand in oils on artist-grade stretched canvas, with an extra blank border left for framing. How to care for your painting.
Measurements are on the size guide, or e-mail [email protected] and we reply within one business day.
