"Unveiling Women in Modern Art Evolution"
This article examines how three artists have not only found inspiration from their predecessors, but their innovation led to the emergence of a new art movement. Three artists –Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, and Willem De Kooning, each fond of the previous- will be analyzed through a single portraiture of a woman to define the characteristics of the genre they represent. I will describe the artist aspects of their influences as well as their innovative techniques that led to the emerging art movement. Each inspired from the other, these artists infused their creation in a new genre which subsequently led to change the trajectory of the art.
Paul Cézanne, Madame Cézanne in the Conservatory (greenhouse) (c.1892). Post-impressionism
Madame Cézanne must have been a patient woman because she appears in around 30 paintings of her husband. This portrait was made 22 years after their marriage, when 47 years old Cézanne had reached an artistic maturity. Unlike the previous gloomy or bored portraits of Madame Cézanne, this piece has a jollier mood. Her faint smile, rosy cheeks, and the bright orange background depict an unusual happiness in the warm conservatory she is posing in. Her head is leaning to her right and tilted backward which exudes a sense of happiness and ease. The parallel position of the trunk of the tree and her head is not haphazard. It brings a certain harmony to the background.
Cézanne is widely known as the father of modern art. His unique talents inspired Fauvism, Cubism, Expressionism and even Abstract. The man had two sides to him, one a trendsetter and pioneer, the other difficult, secluded and traditionalist. Cézanne, Seurat, Van Gogh, and Gauguin were part of the generation of artists that were influenced by impressionism but eventually diverged to explore their individual artistic path. The term Post-Impressionist Loosely applies to this group, although they did not associate themselves with part of any artistic movement. Cézanne considered himself a pupil of Camile Pissarro one of the pioneers of impressionism.
Pissarro was not only a great source of encouragement for him, but he also encouraged him to using lighter colors and incorporate shorter brushstrokes to his advantage both borrowed from impressionism. “The pool, Jas de Bouffon” (1876) is a clear example of his impressionism era. The vibrant orange, green, and red hues in the greenhouse in addition to the brief brush strokes defining the flowers beside Madame Cézanne or expressing Pissarro’s influence.
Cézanne became interested in optical works of Charles Wheatstone, a British scientist who created a device named pseudo-scope. Wheatstone proved that linear perspective is created by our brain because each eye captures a different image. Cézanne experienced with pseudo-scope in the outdoors and developed a disregard for linear perception in his paintings. Lack of exactitude in the hands of Madame Cézanne or the blurred presentation of her eyes is representative of such dual perspective. His other innovation was the way that he broke up the surface of his subject into small multifaceted areas of paint. This technique, mostly used in his landscapes, at times created an abstract, multi-dimensional, or unfinished look to his work, which later attributed to Cubism. The yellow and light orange colored ledge of the wall behind her and patches of different shades of greenish grey and light orange is an example of breaking surface and creating dimension. A similar technique in different form presents an unfinished feel to the bottom of skirt, an creating an abstract feel in presentation of her hands.
Cézanne’s legacy on the trajectory of art history is undeniable. His color theory, surface texture and unique structure and composition inspires artist up to this date.
Henri Matisse, “La Japonaise: Woman beside the Water” (1905). Fauvism
Henri Matisse’s “Woman with A Hat” created controversy at the 1905 Salon D’Automne in Paris, earning the nickname “fauve” or “beast” for the painters of the genre. At that very exhibition, Matisse presented “La Japonaise”, while Cézanne showcased one of his series of paintings titled “The Bathers”. By that time, on the advice of Camille Pissarro, Matisse had already gone to debt to purchase “The Three Bathers” by Cézanne, “Head of Boy” by Gaugin and a drawing by Van Gogh. He had also even gone to London to study the work of J. W. Turner. Yet in conclusion, he called Cézanne the God of painting.
La Japonaise is bold, lively, and abstract; it is only by reading the title that we notice the woman is sitting by the water. The water is depicted in short or wavy brushes of pink, green, fuchsia, and purple. As a unique feature of fauvism, colors were radically non-representational. A cause of critics’ outrage at the time, the woman’s face, and neck without any representation of skin color, are simply patches of orange, green, pink, and bold yellow. Colors are used for their emotive qualities rather than representational aspects. It is the burst of color that invites the viewer to search the form. Such deconstruction of form and highlighting the power of colors eventually triggered future art movement such as Orphism, Cubism, German and Abstract Expressionism.
Matisse learned the power of colors from Cézanne, but he mounted it to its intensity. Matisse who had a keen interest on Buddhism once said he wanted to create an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matters. This was the general aim of Fauvist such as Andre Derain, Maurice Vlaminck, and Raoul Dufy as well; therefore, there was no hint of realism in their works.
Dr. Harris and Dr. Zucker in comparing Cézanne with Matisse work write: “Cézanne’s painting ruptured forms in order to accurately explore vision as experienced through time and space—in other words, forms look different depending on where we are in relation to them.” Matisse, however, applied the same concept by drawing its forms out of proportion, recognizing that the viewer’s position would change the subject’s ratio. This might explain why the head to body ratio of the woman is smaller than natural and her body is elongated.
The simplicity of short and curved brushstrokes imply movement over the surface of water, crude dabs of white, cream, and light blue on the dress evoke a sense of gentle breeze. Such simplicity creates a mental quest for the audience for different interpretation. Accurate visual experience was an aim of Cézanne. In continuance of such tradition, Matisse challenged the spatial illusion of three dimensions and deliberately gravitated towards methods which emphasized the flatness of his work. As evident in the piece, the woman is merged with the landscape and her hand is integrated with book or object that she holds.
Willem De Kooning, “Woman and Bicycle” (1952–1953) Abstract Expressionism
Willem de Kooning drew a series of six oversized paintings which were exhibited in March 1953 at Sydney Janis Gallery (New York) titled as Paintings on the Theme of the Woman. By that time, Abstract art was celebrated as a progressive achievement in New York and Museum of Modern Art purchase the most controversial piece, Woman I, in the same year. Just as the repression under tsars and fear of World War I, set the abstract movement of Suprematism in Russia around 1915, World War II, the rise of totalitarian regimes in Germany and Italy in addition to the Great Depression in the United States created a chaotic global atmosphere which fostered a spontaneous and experimental art movement in New York during 1940’s. The term Abstract Expressionism was coined by critics to address this group of artists such as De Kooning, Rothko and Pollack that each used their individual techniques and never agreed on the term “abstract expressionist. Although the concept of abstract art was not new at the time, a distinguished perspective was necessary to separate the movements. Alfred H. Barr Jr. the former director of New York Museum of Modern Art believed that the geometric order and structural approach in Suprematism, and Constructivism were led from Paul Cézanne and Georges Seurat via Cubism. Conversely, the Abstract Impressionism seen in the works of De Kooning, Rothko, and Pollock drew inspiration from Gauguin through Matisse Fauvism.
Woman Riding a Bicycle, one of the six pieces of Woman Series, is a nearly four by six feet canvas purchased by Whitney Museum of Art. Working his brush and palette knife through copious amount of paint, De Kooning’s creation is democratic and expressive. He smudges the paint, scratches through the canvas, contours with charcoals and yet still childishly scribbles through it. The painting portrays a contemporary woman, taken out of its historical context yet still burdened with the expectation of achieving the impossible. Her high heels and her tight, uneasy attire conflict with riding the bicycle.
As Society perpetually has judged her desirability and compliance, in her full make up exposing her curves like a movie star the pretense of happiness is depicted in her double smiles. In my opinion, Woman I, part of the same series, is complementary to this piece as it represents the simmering frustration and rage of centuries of scrutiny and patriarchal expectation.
Although both form and techniques are unsettling, De Kooning creates a rather symmetrical composition which her towering presence over the audience, is utterly powerful. In concept both La Japonaise and Woman and Bicycle, redirect the focus from viewer’s expectation to the power of the work itself. Use of primary and complementary colors and disregard for the spatial representation is a freedom that both Matisse and De Kooning exercise. Just like Matisse, De Kooning uses the texture and unpredictable brushstroke in favor of creating an emotion in his audience. As great artists grow out of one style to the other, the later works of De Kooning such as Untitled XXIII, Matisse influence is more obvious. As Kevie Yang, a former contemporary art specialist at Christie’s stated:” De Kooning’s paintings of (later period) fearlessly (which) liberated line and color from representation, (made) de Kooning the inheritor of Matisse’s legacy of artistic exploration.”
In conclusion, the exploration of Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse and Willem De Kooning’s three female portraitures reveals the artistic interplay between tradition and innovation - influence, and originality. Through their work, each artist not only paid homage to their predecessors but also emerged a new art movement. Cézanne revolutionary techniques, Matisse’s bold colors and De Kooning expressive form and texture will continue to inspire contemporary artists to shape the evolving landscape of art.
WORKS CITED:
Cezanne:
James Voorhies, “Paul Cezanne (1839–1906)”, Oct 2004, Assessed May 3rd, 2024, https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pcez/hd_pcez.htm.
Jim Coddington and Dr. Steven Zucker, "The conservator’s eye: Madame Cézanne in the Conservatory," in Smarthistory, October 9, 2017, accessed May 4, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/madame-cezanne/.
Pavel Machotka, “MADAME CÉZANNE DANS LA SERRE, 1891-1892”, 12 May 2017, Assessed May 3rd, 2024, https://www.societe-cezanne.fr/la-societe-paul-cezanne/.
Voorhies, James. “Post-Impressionism.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. (October 2004), Assessed May 3rd, 2024, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/poim/hd_poim.htm
Video: “Paul Cezanne and his Revolutionary Optics”, ZCZ Films, Assessed April 28, 2024, https://youtu.be/V9VRKHi9IKQ?si=wHvfOrUS7NmalrpP.
Matisse:
Dr. Charles Cramer and Dr. Kim Grant, "Henri Matisse, Open Window, Collioure," in Smarthistory, April 15, 2020, accessed May 4, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/henri-matisse-open-window-collioure/.
Dr. Virginia B. Spivey, "Fauvism, an introduction," in Smarthistory, August 9, 2015, accessed May 9, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/a-beginners-guide-to-fauvism/.
“Salon d' Automne, 1905”, Archive of American Art, Assessed May 1, 2024, https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/items/detail/salon-d-automne-8797.
De Kooning:
Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, "Willem de Kooning, Woman, I," in Smarthistory, October 8, 2016, accessed May 9, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/de-k-woman/.
Dr. Virginia B. Spivey, "Abstract Expressionism, an introduction," in Smarthistory, August 9, 2015, accessed May 9, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/abstract-expressionism-an-introduction/.
Kevie Yang, “Willem De Kooning Untitled XIX”, Assessed May 9, 2024, https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5846079
Werner Holzwarth, Hans, and Laszlo Taschen. Modern Art, Taschen, Hamburg, pp. 403, 428.