AS SEEN IN...Martigny Switzerland

Matisse in His Time

The 2015 Major Summer Event for the Foundation Pierre Gianadda 

The Foundation Pierre Gianadda puts on two major exhibits each year...and this summer's exhibit is another well curated collection in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou in Paris and Swiss private and public collections.

The main idea of this exhibition is to show Matisses's work in a new light...that of his relationships and exchanges with his fellow artists.  The show includes works by Picasso, Gris, Braque, Derain, Bonnard and others.

Depending on the style or art movement, my observations show a strong similarity in color palettes between the various artists.  Matisse, born in 1869, had a career that spanned several styles/periors till his death in 1954: Class of Gustave Moreau, Fauvism, Cubism, the Odalisques, Figure and Color, the Studio, Modernism, and his final phase which he did little in the way of painting was "to draw in colour field" which involved color cut-outs.

An interesting comparison of his changing style is with his series of the Pont Saint-Michel.  The first painting was rendered in 1897, the second in 1900, and the third in 1912.

I particularly enjoyed his "Odalisques" paintings, which reflected his time he lived in Morocco.  He brought back with him oriental carpets, fabrics, ceramics, and clothes to decorate his studio for the odalisque paintings...which display the bright colors and ornamental patterns in exotic and luxurious interiors.

Matisse's "Grand Intérieur Rouge" 1948, was one of his final painting on canvas before his last period and his death.

Also seen in Martigny...

Lunch on the square was a perfect ending to the afternoon where the fun and colorful plastic wine coolers caught my eye...along with the colorful metal industrial style cafe chairs (which I recently used for a breakfast nook project) in bright colors, that were mixed with various other styles of bistro chairs.  Inexpensive ways to add color to an interior...or exterior...