Week 6

This week, we are looking at the “Blue Nude” by Henri Matisse, 1907.  In this painting there is a strong presence of primitivism and a sense of avant-garde.   First reaction to this painting was of initial shock at the color choices, so bold and in your face.  Then, secondly the nude figure seems to be right in your face as well.  As if zooming in on the nude was necessary for reaction.  Analyzing this, I see that this nude in comparison to older works and the “common nude” are very bold and out there.  Being honest with myself, I am not sure whether this is a male or female.  Of course the breasts are large and in your face, but the masculinity of the arms and hair and the covering of lower region kind of leave me a little confused.  There is very little detailed attention spent on the body and I think this was intentional to raise this question.  The nude also has a very muscular physique which promotes the confusion.  Female nudes otherwise were portrayed as soft and voluptuous, not hard and chiseled.  Perhaps, it was painting unisex on purpose to push the boundaries with the critiques at the time.  At first, I didn’t find this painting to be very awe inspiring.  It seems so simple that any “primitive” child could create it.  But after looking further on this painting, there are many hidden ideas.      

            In regard to the primitivism that the painting holds, Matisse paints with broad strokes and very little details.  The nude being surrounded by a jungle of sorts shows that this has a jungle roots idea, that we came from the jungle and this is a return in some fashion our roots.  There is also the idea that in primitivism, females are generally depicted as primitive, working in the fields or being put in nature settings to show their status.  Matisse’s “Blue Nude” follows this critique and also exemplifies another.  The apparent connection to simplicity and disconnection to complexity.  My thoughts here directly correlate to the works by Gauguin.  The majority of what I have seen by Gauguin lacks any detail, seems to be nearly finger paintings, but the ideas and concepts within them are definitely present.  The “Blue Nude” is also very subjective.  I believe this work by Matisse exaggerates and distorts lines, colors, and forms to be more subjective.  It leaves the viewer to decide on his own what he sees.  I think that this was done to be thought provoking and a cause for uproar of emotion and discussions at the well (water cooler of the time).   This nude to me is not considered as an object at all, but rather as a statement of something.  I’m not too sure what that statement is, but it is definitely not the “in the box” style.   And as I recall, this is a definition of what it is to be avant-garde.  To me, the political statement isn’t too clear, but the pushing forward into new envelopes of societal and artistic acceptance is there.