Modern Marvels: Assignment 9

Thomas Tiernan

Assignment 9

Pablo Picasso vs Henri Matisse

            Modern art has been increasing drastically in the 20^th century. Herni Matisse and Pablo Picasso are my two favorite examples of outstanding modern artists. Matisse was born 1869 and in his early years, he did not favor well with the general public. His use of colors was considered arbitrary, and critics even labeled his work as “wild beasts”.  The struggles to make the transition from a traditional painting method lead Matisse to experiment Western traditions of painting. Joy of Life is a great example of his transition due to the use of bold and expressive colors and shadowing, to further dramatize the subjects of his artwork.

This picture only uses a few colors, but everything stands out perfectly. This reflects Matisse’s fascination with traditional art and he uses a classic Fauvist color palette. I believe the nude dancing women conveys the feeling of liberation and freedom.
 Matisse kept himself out of politics and social issues, and his favorite subject to draw was always the human body. Matisse not only worked as a painter, but also worked as a sculptor, book illustrator, and an architectural designer. My favorite Matisse work is of the 5 women dancing in a circle holding hands.

            Pablo Picasso was born in a Spanish town in 1881. He attended an art school in Barcelona but abandoned that to start his own career. Picasso went through different phases in his drawings; for example, “blue period” and “cubism”. His blue phase included famous drawings such as Self Portrait with Palette. This picture shows young Picasso holding a palette but no brush. I believe this symbolizes his talent independent of his tools. Guernica is my favorite Picasso piece. It was created in response to the bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. It shows the tragedy of war and the suffering it inflicts upon families and individuals. For example, in the very left of the artwork, you see a woman crying while holding what looks likes her dead son. Even though the characters seem almost abstract, Picasso uses cubism to perfectly demonstrate tragedy from war.

Cubism is a movement in art in which perspective with a single viewpoint was abandoned and use was made of simple geometric shapes. Most people recognize Picasso with his cubism art, because that was what he was doing in his later years.

            I believe Matisse’s art was similar to early Picasso’s work. Both artists created landmark works in the history of modern art. They represent a contrast in approach and awareness in the engagement with modernism.