The Museum of Modern Art in New York City has a new exhibition, Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913–1917.

In the time between Henri Matisse’s (1869–1954) return from Morocco in 1913 and his departure for Nice in 1917, the artist produced some of the most demanding, experimental, and enigmatic works of his career—paintings that are abstracted and rigorously purged of descriptive detail, geometric and sharply composed, and dominated by shades of black and gray. Works from this period have typically been treated as unrelated to one another, as an aberration within the artist’s development, or as a response to Cubism or World War I.

_

MATISSE GOLDFISH by Bob Kessel

_

Bob Kessel has created an art series titled, “Something Fishy”. It features pictures based on the works of Henri Matisse like the picture “MATISSE GOLDFISH” shown above. These pictures are available as signed and numbered limited edition fine art prints. Contact Bob Kessel for pricing and availability.

Henri Matisse, born in 1869, is regarded as one of the great formative figures in 20th-century art, as well as the leader of the Fauve group. Fauvism is defined as an early-20th-century movement in painting begun by a group of French artists and marked by the use of bold, often distorted forms and vivid colors. Matisse was associated with this group due to his use of vivid colors, as well as his unusual style of presenting objects. Many critics at this time called him, as well as other artists with similar styles, a disgrace for art and therefore called them ‘The Fauves’. The Fauves means ‘Wild Beasts’, a name that the artists of the group accepted with pride. The main goals of the artists in this movement were to break away from the rigid Impressionist movement, and begin using bolder colors, as well as their own interpretations of shapes. The work of Matisse is based on the principals and possibilities of ‘leaving out’. The human mind can fill in what is missing in the painting, like dimension, details and plastical forms. The Fauves expressed their feelings of joy for life and joy for art and painting. Fauvism paved the way for future styles of art, and was considered radical in the early 20th century.

MATISSE AND HIS MODEL by Bob Kessel

•

See more Matisse inspired art by Bob Kessel by clicking here.

Due to the recurrent incidence of nude women and intensely sensual interpretation many observers have assumed that as a man Matisse must have been a hedonist. On the contrary, historic examination demonstrates that in reality, he was rather a self-abnegating Northerner who lived only to work, and did so in chronic anguish, recurrent panic, and amid periodic breakdowns. While Picasso recompensed himself, as he went along, with gratifications of intellectual and erotic play Matisse did not. In an age of ideologies, Matisse dodged all ideas except perhaps one: that art is life by other means.

Matisse’s uninhibited celebration of women is often believed to have initiated from Cézanne’s painting Three Bathers (1882) (which he had acquired for himself along with a Van Gogh and a Gauguin). However, Matisse depicts women as nurturing, welcoming, and unlike the forbidding, massive clay-like presence of those of Paul Cezanne.

Matisse continued to evolve in unexpected directions even though never became an abstract painter (though some of his most adventurous works, such as the View of Notre Dame of 1914 or the Yellow Curtain of 1916 come close). His motifs were always recognizable, and the tension between the subject and the formal aspects of the painting was a central concept of his artistic ideal.

•

ODALISQUE WITH CULOTTES by Bob Kessel
after Henri Matisse

•

STRIPED ODALISQUE  by Bob kessel
after Henri Matisse

•

TOPLESS ODALISQUE  by Bob kessel
after Henri Matisse

•

BLUE ODALISQUE by Bob Kessel
after Henri Matisse

•

NAPPING ODALISQUE by Bob Kessel
after Henri Matisse

•

SEATED ODALISQUE by Bob Kessel
after Henri Matisse

Matisse placed paintings of his paintings inside paintings of his studio. It is interesting to note that he simplified and stylized the paintings of his paintings and that his later artwork moved towards that look.

Bob Kessel has also placed pictures of his previous pictures in his artwork. These pictures can be purchased as signed and numbered limited edition original fine art prints. Contact Bob Kessel for prices and availability.

RED STUDIO by Henri Matisse

RED ROOM by Bob Kessel

RED ROOM, BLUE ROOM by Bob Kessel

___

PARLIMENT by Bob Kessel

PARLIMENT OVER TOILET by Bob Kessel

___

MONET LILIES by Bob Kessel

MONET LILIES WITH NUDE by Bob Kessel

___

DEGAS GIRL COMBING HAIR by Bob Kessel

ARTIST WITH DEGAS GIRL COMBING HAIR by Bob Kessel

___

SUN by Bob Kessel

SUN IN GALLERY by Bob Kessel

SUN IN GALLERY OVER SOFA by Bob Kessel

Pablo Picasso quote by Bob Kessel

Bob Kessel has created a new art series titled, “ARTISTS ON ART” based on not so well known quotes by well known artists. The pictures are available as limited edition fine art prints, signed and numbered by the artist. Contact Bob Kessel for prices and availability.

Bob Kessel’s “ARTISTS ON ART” series includes the following artists; Salvador Dali, Leonardo Da Vinci, Giorgio DeChirico, Roy Lichtenstein, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Paul Klee, Rene Magritte, Henri Matisse, Michelangelo, Piet Mondrian, Claude Monet, Georgia O’Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, Auguste Renoir, Peter Paul Rubens, John Singer Sargent, Ben Shahn, Su Tung Po, Vincent Van Gogh, Orson Welles, James McNeill Whistler