The Red Studio | Henri Matisse
Snapshot
Review of Henri Matisse’s painting, The Red Studio
Artist: Henri Matisse
Title: The Red Studio
Oil on canvas
Year: 1911
Dimensions: 181 x 219 cm (5.9 x 7.2 ft)
Location: The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York City, USA
The Companionship of The Red Studio
The experience of looking at art often reflects having a conversation with someone. A difference – and may I suggest benefit – about the artwork engagement is that you can choose the circumstances of said interaction. Walking through a museum is like walking into a party, scouting for just the right rendezvous. Are you impelled to listen to and learn from stories of injustice, yet resilience? Jacob Lawrence is for you. Would you prefer a dazzling dialogue with sprightly forms that could only exist in dreams? Try Joan Miró. Are you craving a discussion that will nag and haunt you for hours… or are your needs demanding a more fleeting, low-stakes chit chat? These considerations swirl in your head as you move from gallery to gallery, deciding on the conversation you’re prepared for.
On a chilly January afternoon, in what I assumed to be the midway point of the Covid pandemic, I found myself wandering the Museum of Modern Art in New York City like a giddy puppy, veiling a gummy smile behind my face mask. Every bright color was shouting in my direction. Every cross-eyed Picasso darling was flirting with me. The Dalís were dizzying in their imaginative landscapes, almost too exotic for my isolated eyes who had barely traveled to another borough’s bodega in eight months.
Maybe it was that glowing rusty red, or maybe it was the simplicity of the flat composition that led my eyes, then my body, to settle in for a long internal discussion with Henri Matisse’s The Red Studio (L'Atelier Rouge).
Gallery 506 is a room in the MoMA that is full of Matisse’s work, predominantly created around the 1910s. The pieces don’t even share the room with equally notable Impressionist artists, no, the Matisses are left alone, graciously offering their company to you. In the house party that is an art museum, my pulling-up to The Red Studio was like finding an abandoned upstairs bathroom where I could close the door, take a break from socializing, cheekily sample the hostess’ fancy perfume bottles, and check in with myself.
This painting, a 64 × 51 inch interior, tugs at your sleeve, inviting you in: there is an entrance to the artwork literally painted in, on the bottom right. You brush past the desk upon entry, using the pencils as arrows, encouraging you to step into the center of the room where you will be alone. The handless clock appears to you like the wardrobe from Narnia, but you are already on the other, magical side. Time is not kept here; the numberless timepiece emboldens you to take a prolonged pause. The chairs along the room’s edge, facing the center, reassure you to really take an extended rest, almost asking you, “how are you really doing?”.
As you enjoy unwinding in the center of the studio, notice the furniture that Matisse chose to detail only via outlines or as reductive renditions: a droopy low-light plant, humble wooden stools, and other creations from his own portfolio. This gentle inclusion of recognizable objects aids the visualization of this space without cramping the composition — allowing harmony and avoiding chaotic, competing focal points for your eyes. Perhaps your mind tours the studio and consequently takes a natural hiatus from heavier self talk, moving more tenderly towards personal queries.
Luckily for us, Fauvism, although a brief art period, was well partnered with Matisse. As a Fauve – which translates to “wild beast” – Matisse prioritized using strident colors while simultaneously simplifying the details of the included subjects. This resulted in the abstraction of a scene to reflect the emotions associated with what is trying to be portrayed, rather than documenting the technicalities. The painting is and isn’t about the red. The painting is actually a rainbow of colors, full of variety. In-person viewing is essential to appreciate the nuances of the tie dye-esque underpainting, peeking through the furniture’s outlines.
Perhaps the large amount of red is present so that you don’t have to work so hard to arrive. Matisse once explained, "Where I got the color red—to be sure, I just don't know, I find that all these things only become what they are to me when I see them together with the color red." This reminds me of the intuitive tactics of children during moments of sensory overload – they may close their eyes in order to self-regulate a possible processing meltdown. For adults, we’ve graduated to meditation or taking a quiet walk in order to slow the incoming stimulations that are congesting our swirling minds.
In The Red Studio, you are invited into a space that has been cleared for you — like Matisse suggested — to see what things may become when given the proper environment to observe and reflect. Conversely, the subjects of many other successful paintings are a gift to you, dear voyeur, to peer inside at exquisitely crafted configurations and enticing scenes of indulgence. There are countless historical artifacts to appreciate, learn the cultural significance of, and influence one’s modern day actions. The alternative artistic offerings are not to belittle The Red Studio nor to deem it boring, but instead to suggest that it is different due to its welcoming softness.
While I am in The Red Studio, I have a similar feeling as when I am window shopping and strolling through Chinatown during the Lunar New Year. The red, yellow and gold decorations of that holiday season — that are in crisscross patterns up the street — mirror the zigzags of the fire escapes that are set against the stately brick apartments of the neighborhood. There is no pressure to buy anything, nor is there a requirement to fully participate in the celebrations. Nonetheless, I am on the receiving end of the parade’s cheers, the lanterns’ glow, and the good fortune in the air. It feels nice simply to be a spectator. It is an environment to think about my own personal year and the related goals ahead.
At some point the sculptures in the surrounding galleries will start to whisper for your partnership and the triptychs of Max Beckmann will demand your inquisitiveness. Although The Red Studio was a pleasant companion, the responsibility of critically engaging with others will be a necessary action along the way of your art relationships. So, at no rush, exit the same way you came in and saunter through the soiree, hopefully more prepared to engage with your next conversationalist.
