Famous Paintings Reviewed

Famous Paintings by Matisse

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An art history blog post from Famous Paintings Reviewed.

Some of the most famous paintings in the world were created by Henri Matisse (1869-1954), indisputably one of the most famous painters in art history. After receiving his legal degree in 1888, he regretted his career choice and opted for art school instead. He began studying in Paris with William-Adolphe Bouguereau in 1891, but subsequently moved to the more progressive studio of Gustave Moreau. In these years, Matisse built a modest art collection, acquiring art paintings by other Paris-based artists like Paul Gauguin, Paul Cezanne, and Rodin. Matisse later commented that his acquisition of Cezanne’s Bathers was profoundly influential.

Henri Matisse.  The Dance, 1909-1910. Oil on canvas, 8'6" by 12'10".  Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.

This influence is plainly visible in two of the most famous paintings by Matisse, the pendant, or paired, works known as Dance (La Danse) and Music (La Musique).  Both art paintings were commissioned in 1909 by the Russian merchant, Sergei Shchukin, who was a leading collector of late 19th and early 20th century art. By 1914, Shchukin had acquired 37 paintings by Matisse; the bulk of these were bequeathed to the Hermitage and form the core of its expansive collection of Matisse paintings.

In 1910, Matisse submitted La Danse and La Musique for the Salon d’Automne, the Salon or art exhibition organized in 1903 as an alternative to the more conservative Paris Salon. Although Matisse's monumental nudes were gender-neutral, his pair of art paintings nonetheless provoked a far-reaching scandal culminating with Shchukin's rejection of them.   He intended for La Danse and La Musique to adorn the stairwell of his Moscow house, the Troubetzkoy Palace (above right), but claimed that the sexuality of these art paintings would offend his daughters and Russian friends. After protestations from Matisse, Shchukin recanted after one "explicit" portion was “touched up”.

The inspiration for La Danse came to Matisse from various sources, including the dance floor of the popular Parisian cabaret,

Moulin de la Galette, and two previous art paintings, Joie de Vivre (1905) and an earlier version of Dance (now  at the Museum of Modern Art in New York). The nudes of the Hermitage La Danse are amorphous, mythical creatures who skip and dance as if they were vying to unite Man, Earth and Heaven. Matisse’s palette of only green, red, and blue captures, as he wished, "the bluest of blues for the sky" and "the greenest of greens for the earth".  This simple but powerful palette captures the joyous vitality of his dancers. 

In the pendant painting, though, this palette seems incongruous with the placidity of the musicians - the figures sanguinely sit or play instruments and the reds, blues, and greens appear muted.  Although La Musique lacks the vitality of its pendant, La Danse deservedly is one of the most famous paintings in the world.

Read about more famous paintings by Matisse and others in Masterpiece Cards, a set of art history cards of Renaissance paintings through Pop art paintings.

Want a sample to see and hold? Request some sample Masterpiece Cards, and we'll oblige. Want to go green? See sample art history flashcards online.