Portrait of Mme. Matisse 1913

Henri Matisse made this portrait of his wife using oil paints on canvas. The material itself, oil paint, is interesting. It allows for smooth gradations and the ability to blend colors directly on the canvas. Look closely at the surface, and you can see the individual brushstrokes. Matisse's application of paint is quite direct; he wasn't trying to hide the evidence of his hand at work. This was part of a broader early twentieth-century trend: valuing process. Rather than presenting a highly polished illusion, artists celebrated the messy realities of facture. Consider also the social context: the rise of industrial capitalism had estranged many people from the means of production. By emphasizing the handmade, Matisse and his contemporaries implicitly critiqued this alienation, reasserting the value of individual labor and skill. By attending to these issues, we can appreciate the artwork beyond its aesthetic qualities, understanding it as a response to its time.