When Henri Matisse began his modern take on art, critics compared his work to that of a child or a monkey with a paint brush. People didn’t realize how much time it took to perfect this seemingly effortless simplicity.
The Dallas Museum of Art welcomed Dr. James Housefield on Sunday to add his unique style of teaching to the Matisse exhibit. Named Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Humanities by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Housefield teaches art history at Texas State University. Housefield received his MA from the University of Texas at Austin and is in the midst of writing two new books.
“Matisse said, ‘I sculpted as a painter’. Sculpting and painting are two hands of the same act,” said Housefield while describing Matisse’s unique style that transfers from his painting to his sculpting and then to his paper cutouts. “When you act, act in the moment.”
The DMA continues with its “Matisse Painter as Sculptor” exhibit until April 29. With pieces such as his famous “Blue Nude” and “Pink Nude” as well as his Jazz cutouts and his sculptor series entitled “Back I-IV.”
Housefield took a hands-on approach and led a tour through the exhibit instead of a sit-down discussion.
According to Housefield, while creating his “Pink Nude,” Matisse’s assistant cleaned the canvas every night so he could redo the entire painting every day. Each day he worked, his memory of the lines and curves of every aspect of the painting became natural and finally he could paint the final masterpiece in a matter of seconds.
“Matisse wanted to go back to old ideas and see them in a new way,” explained Housefield.
While sculpting, Matisse used works from his predecessors, but he changed them up. Antoine-Louis Barye’s sculpture “Jaguar dévorant un lièvre” inspired Matisse to create his own version.
“Matisse altered from Barye’s realistic style and went for raw animal power,” Housefield said. “Copying is not thought of highly in the art world, so Matisse moved back to what he had learned.”
Many of Matisse’s pieces are intense. Some use a mixture of tension as well as a sense of calm.
One piece in particular, “Large Seated Nude,” a bronzed sculpture of a woman in a reclined position in which her body exudes calmness, yet it still has a slightly tense position. A degree of intensity emits from the sculptures by Matisse.
All of Matisse’s work met disdain at every exhibition he brought it to.
Critics saw effortless simplicity instead of modern innovation. But none of what Matisse did involved simplicity. With every redo and remake, as well as in all of his drawings, Matisse executed his work from muscle memory.
“Effortless simplicity involves work and effort. In order to produce a piece of work in twelve seconds exactly how the artists wishes it to be, he must work hard and train his body to create exactly what the artists wants,” said Housefield.
Matisse’s modern stance on art may have been criticized when he created them, but with time and understanding, his ideas finally became accepted and admired.
