Wednesday, July 13, 2022

HENRI MATISSE AT THE MOMA,NEW YORK.

                                           





























                                                                         ( The Musicians)



                                                                       ( Self Portrait)
                   
 
                                                    (  “Odalisque couchée aux magnolias”)        

                                            ( Sophie Matisse, great granddaughter of the artist )

                                                           ( The Dancers)
                                                             ( The Red Studio ) 

                                                                    ( The lady at the Piano )
                                        

                                           (Henri Matisse, The Moroccans, 1915-1916, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA.)

                                       
                                                                 ( Matisse in his studio)


 

HENRI MATISSE (1869-1954)  AT  THE MOMA (  Museum Of Modern Art) ,MANHATTAN ,NEW  YORK.

  On 24th June , 2022 , I spent a day at the MOMA , New York . This was my fourth visit to the Museum  since 2017.The Museum of Modern Art is located on 53rd  Street between 5th and 6th Avenue. Its location is close to the Madisson Avenue and Broadway Street. Sheraton New York and New York Hilton hotels are also located nearby. The food carts of ever busy and popular 'Halal Guys 'are also located nearby.The  MOMA is  easily approachable by New York Subway( metro) or taxi. One can walk some blocks from the  Times Square Subway station and reach the MOMA .

Every type of Modern Art that was produced in Europe and America after 1940  is exhibited or  showcased here .The idea for the Museum of Modern Art was developed in 1928 primarily by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (wife of John D. Rockefeller .) and two of her friends; Lillie P Bliss and Mrs Cornelius J Sullivan. They belonged to wealthy and philanthropic families. I am told that the present MOMA complex also belonged to the philanthropic Rockfeller family.
More than two million people  visit the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) every year — and it’s not hard to understand why. This powerhouse art institution was the city’s first museum that focused exclusively on Modern Art. Inside its hallowed halls, it houses masterpieces by some of the greatest artists to ever live, including Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent Van Gogh, to name just a few. Its sculpture garden designed by legendary architect Philip Johnson,  is an attraction in and of itself .The entry fee  for adults at the MOMA is 25 Dollars . There is some entree fee concession  for seniors, disabled individuals  and students .Apart from this ,New York residents are allowed free entry once in a month. This free entry is sponsored by UNIQLO, the Japanese apparel giant.  Incidentally UNIQLO was established in 1984 in Hiroshama city and currently it is located in 2000 cities the  in 15 countries of the world .

Arranged as a special exhibition, Henri Matisse's  work was on lavish display at the MOMA  on the date of my visit .This special Matisse  exhibition held on 3rd floor was known as “THE RED STUDIO” .  Opened on May 1,2022 , the exhibition gave  visitors a once-in-a-lifetime way to experience the legendary Henri Matisse’s  work. The Red Studio at the MOMA will close on  September 10. From the MOMA, “THE RED STUDIO’  will move to the  National Gallery of Denmark in Copenhagen whereat it will be on display  from October 13, 2022, to February 26, 2023. Apart from  the paintings ,the prints and the cut outs ,a rich selection of the  archival materials, including  the photographs and the  letters of Matisse were also being exhibited at the MOMA.  These items reveal new information about the painting’s subject and history.

Henri Matisse was born  in northern France, on December 31, 1869.  He is widely regarded as the greatest colourist of the 20th  century and  a rival to Pablo Picasso in the importance of his innovations. He emerged as a Post-Impressionist painter , and first achieved prominence as the leader of the French  Art  movement known as Fauvism .The Fauvism artists also referred to as the “Fauves” or “Beasts” developed a style with extremely bright colours and would inspire many of the most renowned modernist artists during the next decades.

Initially Matisse  painted still-life  and landscapes in a traditional style and  gained good proficiency. He was influenced by the works of earlier masters such as Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, Nicolas Poussin, and Antoine Watteau, as well as by modern artists such as Edouard Manet, and also by the Japanese art. The Japanese influence is clearly visible  in many of his creations .

His work exudes bright, pure colour and expressive form and composition. This was the epitome of the Fauvist style, the art movement led by Matisse which was defined by bright colours striving for strong emotional reactions. Matisse used pure colours and the white of exposed canvas to create a light-filled atmosphere in his Fauve paintings. During his  Fauvist period, Matisse produced a significant number of remarkable canvases, such as the portrait of Madame Matisse, called The Green Line (1905; Statens Museum for Kunst. Copenhagen); Bonheur de vivre (1905–6; Barnes Collection, Merion, Pa.); Marguerite Reading (ca. 1906; Museum of Modern Art, New York); two versions of the Young Sailor (1906), the second of which is in the Metropolitan Museum (1999.363.41); Blue Nude: Memory of Biskra (1907; Baltimore Museum of Art); and two versions of Le Luxe (1907), among others.

Matisse's well known paintings   have been sold for millions of dollars. Some examples include The Plum Blossoms (1948) which was bought for approximately $25 million for the Museum of Modern Art in 2005, and a sculpture named “Reclining Nude, I” which was sold for $9.2 million in 2002.His most expansive painting so far is a painting called “Odalisque couchée aux magnolias” which was sold in 2018 for an astounding $80.8 million .Before the auction  this painting was owned by  David Rockfeller's family . It was hung in the living room of the family's 70 acre 'Hudson Pines' house  on the outskirts of Manhattan, New York. This 70 acre  property was sold by the family after the death of David Rockfeller( 1915-2017) in 2017.

( Avtar Mota)


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