The Dessert: Harmony in Red

Henri Matisse, 1908
The Dessert: Harmony in Red, Henri Matisse
The Dessert: Harmony in Red, zoomed in
180.5 cmThe Dessert: Harmony in Red scale comparison221 cm

The Dessert: Harmony in Red is a Fauvist and Early Modernist Oil on Canvas Painting created by Henri Matisse in 1908. It lives at the State Hermitage Museum in Russia. The image is © Succession H. Matisse / ARS, New York, and used according to Educational Fair Use, and tagged Interior Design and Windows. See The Dessert: Harmony in Red in the Kaleidoscope

Henri Matisse referred to his painting the Harmony in Red almost dismissively, calling it a “decorative panel.” And like a piece of ornamental furniture, he scattered the massive canvas with arabesques and floral patterns, a dining room scene with no conventional focal point and a strangely flattened perspective. But the paintings hallmark flood of powerful crimson is radically different than the original painting.

In 1908, the Russian art collector Sergey Shchukin commissioned a painting called “Harmony in Blue” for the dining room of his Moscow mansion. Shchukin liked brash art, having once said “If a picture gives you a psychological shock, buy it.” And in 1908 Matisse was leading the aggressively bold, colorful Fauvist movement, creating some of the most energetic work around. Matisse prepared his canvas in his Paris studio overlooking a monastery garden, and laid down the first draft of the painting in blue. But something had gotten under his skin—the color red. Matisse had an obsession with red that he himself did not fully understand, saying, “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.”

Shchukin had already taken possession of “Harmony in Blue” when Matisse demanded that he revise the work. Changing the name and obliterating the blue with an overpowering red, Matisse kicked off a series of bold red paintings, including The Red Studio and the Red Interior series. The Dessert: Harmony in Red is now considered by critics to be one of the most powerful examples of Fauvist art.

So remember, follow your gut and embrace the radical edit.


...


Got questions, comments or corrections about The Dessert: Harmony in Red? Join the conversation in our Discord, and if you enjoy content like this, consider becoming a member for exclusive essays, downloadables, and discounts in the Obelisk Store.

Reed Enger, "The Dessert: Harmony in Red," in Obelisk Art History, Published February 16, 2015; last modified November 08, 2022, http://www.arthistoryproject.com/artists/henri-matisse/the-dessert-harmony-in-red/.

Read More

By continuing to browse Obelisk you agree to our Cookie Policy