written BY Isabelle Turpin

For the first time since their departure from Henri Matisse’s studio in Issy-les-Moulineaux, the works of art found in his 1911 masterpiece, The Red Studio, have been reunited. In collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Copenhagen’s Statens Museum for Kunst, the Louis Vuitton Foundation of Paris is exhibiting Matisse: The Red Studio, focusing on the creation and history of one of Matisse’s most influential works. The exhibit also contains archived material, including paintings and drawings, that piece together the story of this portion of Matisse’s career, as well as the painting's evolution and reception. 

After passing the white walls that enclose the exhibition space, your eyes are funneled to a large red canvas on the opposite wall. Branching forward and off to the side, various other Matisse pieces line the wall, with sculptures displayed in the space between. After an inspection of the central, red painting, you will notice that the paintings that line the exhibit walls can be found within this feature painting itself. 

The Red Studio is a red-washed still life of the interior of Matisse’s studio in 1911. The accompanying six paintings, three sculptures, and one ceramic that can be found in the painting were all created between the years 1898 and 1911 and sat in Matisse’s studio at the time of his creation of The Red Studio, with the objects having only been recently discovered.The displayed paintings vary in levels of fame, among them the least known being The Old Mill (1898), and on the other hand some of Matisse’s best-known works, like Young Sailor II (1906). However, the largest canvas depicted in the painting cannot be found within the exhibit. Adjacent to the window in the left corner is a painting of a nude woman, aptly named Large Nude (1911). The painting was destroyed after Matisse’s death, per his request. Curator Anne Tempkin explains, “We're not exactly sure why—if Matisse felt it was unresolved or it became damaged.” Within the archived drawings on display is an initial sketch of the painting, but the closest depiction with color remaining can be found in the exhibition's feature piece, immortalized in The Red Studio itself.

Inspired by an exhibition of Islamic art seen in Munich in 1911, Matisse began to experiment painting with interiors completely covered with a solid color. Similarly, Matisse’s Large Red Interior (1948), a piece used later in the exhibit to demonstrate his artistic evolution, is another room interior bathed in red. Interestingly, Large Red Interior is the last finished oil painting Matisse produced, a seeming “return to The Red Studio”, remarked Tempkin. Despite the solid shade of Venetian red, it is possible to tell that The Red Studio is a room because of the depth added by the placement of the chair and window, suggesting recession into the space. This painting, however, while still an exploration of color, suggests something more. The empty canvas leaning against the far wall is saturated with red as well, hinting at the theme of the production of art itself. 

The Red Studio originated at the request of Sergei Shchukin, Matisse’s earliest and most loyal patron. Shchukin had purchased the previous painting, The Pink Studio (1911), but declined the purchase of The Red Studio. After Shchukin’s decline, The Red Studio remained in Matisse’s care for sixteen years and was shown at various post-impressionist exhibitions around the world, such as the Second Post-Impressionist Exhibition and the 1913 edition of the Armory Show in New York. In 1927, the painting was purchased by David Tennant for the Gargoyle Club in London, a members-only space for artists and aristocrats. The painting remained on display in the club’s ballroom until the early 1940s, when it was purchased by Georges Keller, the Bignou Gallery’s gallery director in New York. However, shortly after being brought to New York, it was acquired by the MoMA in 1949 where it has gained notoriety as a landmark piece in the history of modern art. 

Matisse is often regarded as the greatest colorist of the 20th century, and the experimentation with color found in this piece has become a hallmark of his legacy. As part of the exhibit, a team of art restorationists took part in a video explaining the composition of The Red Studio. They discuss recent findings and give us an in-depth look into the creative timeline of the painting. Before applying the red color, Matisse had applied varying layers of blue, pink, and ochre that comprised most of the painting's composition before settling on solid red. A special emphasis has been placed as well on identifying the colors used to depict the artworks in The Red Studio and comparing them to their real life counterparts. Notably, paint analysis shows that Matisse stayed relatively faithful to his original pigment choices, making it easy to compare the paintings and their miniature depictions side by side.

The exhibit culminates in a room filled with Matisse’s later works, large vibrantly colored canvases, like Large Red Interior (1948) and The Blue Window (1913). Additional studio portraits can be found as well, such as Studio, Quai Saint-Michel (1916), and Studio Under the Eaves (1903), tying the experience back to The Red Studio and Matisse’s venture into studio painting. On your final walk-through, the chosen paintings show the distinct influence The Red Studio had throughout his artistic career. Matisse’s pioneering color and subject exploration influenced not only generations of artists but the modern art movement as a whole. 

Sources:

• Haddad, Abed, et al. “Exploring the Private Universe of Henri Matisse in the Red Studio - Heritage Science.” SpringerOpen, Springer International Publishing, 22 Nov. 2022, heritagesciencejournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40494-022-00797-0. 

• Henri Matisse. the Blue Window. 1913 | Moma, www.moma.org/audio/playlist/322/4214. Accessed 17 Sep. 2024. 

• Temkin, Ann. “Matisse: The Red Studio.” Fondation Louis Vuitton, www.fondationlouisvuitton.fr/en/events/matisse-the-red-studio. Accessed 17 Sep. 2024. 

• “The Red Studio.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., www.britannica.com/topic/The-Red-Studio-by-Matisse. Accessed 17 Sep. 2024.