The Open Window (Matisse)
The Open Window, also known as Open Window, Collioure, is a painting by Henri Matisse. The work, an oil on canvas, was painted in 1905 and exhibited at the Salon d'Automne in Paris the same year. It was bequeathed in 1998 by the estate of Mrs. John Hay Whitney to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC..[1]
| The Open Window | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Henri Matisse |
| Year | 1905 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Movement | Fauvism |
| Dimensions | 55.3 cm × 46 cm (21 3⁄4 in × 18 1⁄8 in) |
| Location | National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. |
It is an example of the Fauvist style of painting that Matisse became famous for, and for which he was a leader, roughly between the years 1900–1909.[2] The Open Window depicts the view out the window of his apartment in Collioure, on the Southern coast of France. We see sailboats on the water, as viewed from Matisse's hotel window overlooking the harbour. He returned frequently to the theme of the open window in Paris and especially during the years in Nice and Etretat, and in his final years, particularly during the late 1940s.
Henri Matisse, apparently, loved painting open windows. It was painted as an invitation to look outside of reality.[Lampel]
References
- Image and text, National Gallery of Art, retrieved December 25, 2007
- Jack D. Flam, Matisse on Art, paperback edition, 1978, E. P. Dutton, p.10, ISBN 0-525-47490-0
