Henri Matisse

The History of Pattern 

The second artist I chose to study was Henri Matisse; similar to Gustav Klimt he uses bold patterns and often makes humans the main subject of his paintings.  He also uses the colour black to outline the patterns in his paintings giving them a bold appearance. Similar to Gustav Klimt ‘ The Kiss’, Matisse includes patterned fabrics in his paintings such as wall hangings, rugs and materials on ladies garments. 

Henri Matisse (1869 – 1954)

In 1869 Henri Matisse was born in the Picardy region of northern France. At 21 years old Henri Matisse became seriously ill and while recovering slowly he became intrigued by the practice of painting. In 1892, he went to Paris to study art formally. He attended art classes at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and dabbled in different styles. In terms of the use of colour to render forms and organize spatial planes he was influenced by the impressionist and post-impressionist painters Pisarro, Cezanne, van Gogh, Gauguin and Paul Signac. Around the year 1905 he finally found his own style characterized by daring, bright colours executed in a broad brush stroke.


Interior With Aubergines 

‘Interior with Aubergines’ is oil on canvas painting painted by Henri Matisse in 1911. The painting shows a table on which there are three aubergines. A pattern of large blue flowers covers both the floor and wall flatly. When painted over the brown of the floor the flowers are read as the carpet, when painted over the brown of the wall, they are read as the wall paper. The creative illusion by the clever placement of the patterns is what interests me about this painting. When looking at this painting I am lead to wonder where the pattern used to decorate the interior of this room starts and ends.

The curvaceous patterns and the boldness of the white and green colours is what attracted me to this painting as it has a bold contrast against the brightness of the orange, brown and purple colours surrounding it. The shape and form of the pattern comes across to me as a luxurious and wealthy decorative design.  The composition of the painting places the table with the aubergines in the centre of the room making it the main focus of the painting and to also represent its importance to Matisse in the painting as he also named the painting after the aubergines.

To the left of the painting there appears to be a door passage to another room, possibly a bedroom where few objects have been placed inside it. From the angle Matisse has painted it; it is only possible to see a small fraction of the room through the door and past the rim of the door the same green and white pattern it also painted through this space causing me to wonder whether the door passage way is non-existent and is still a part of the room.

I think Matisse purposely did this to confuse the viewer and to make them think twice about the composition of the room. On the right of the painting an open window framed in bright orange is seen showing outside scenery to a rural landscape. The bright contrast of orange and green speaks out to me and make a bold statement when placed with each other. Similar to Klimt, Matisse displays the use of bold patterns in this painting and the use of bold and bright colours. 

Black Leaf on Green Background 

Black Leaf on Green Background (1952) by Henri Matisse was made with Gouache and cut paper on paper. During the early to mid-1940s Matisse was in poor health. Eventually by 1950 he stopped painting in favour of his paper cut-outs. Black Leaf on Green Background is an example of Matisse's final body of works known as the cut-outs. The simplicity and brightness of Henri Matisse’s later work caught my attention also. The bold leaf like pattern shapes with rounded tentacles inspires me to explore this unusual shape and practice paper cut outs of my own.

During my project I will take Matisse’s use of bold bright colours into account and use his techniques in my own interpretations.

Gustav Klimt

The History of Pattern 

As apart of Secondary Research for my project I will be looking at various Artists work for inspiration and to also gain an understanding about the use of patterns in early paintings. I will also be comparing the Artists I research and explain how I will be incorporating their ideas into some of my project work. 

The use of pattern allows colour, shape, symbolism, creativity, tradition, class and culture to shine through a piece of art work with the use of ornamental repetition alone and this is what interests me. The link between Patterns and Symbolism also fascinates me; this is why I have chosen Gustav Klimt to study as he was known to not only paint with the ornamental designs but they had meaning behind them. 

Gustav Klimt (1862–1918)

Gustav Klimt (1862 -1918) was an Austrian Symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt was born in a country suburb near Vienna in 1862. He and his two brothers were introduced to art through their father’s profession, an engraver in Gold and Silver. In 1876, Klimt was awarded a scholarship to the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts, where he studied until 1883, and received training in a variety of media including Fresco painting and mosaic as an architectural painter.

During the Vienna Secession Klimt had developed his own characteristic style. Gustav Klimt's was said to have gone through a ‘Golden Period ‘where many of his paintings were painted with gold leaf. His style was highly ornamental and he used a lot of Gold and Silver in his art work. He travelled little, but trips to Venice and Ravenna, both famous for their beautiful mosaics, most likely inspired his gold technique and his Byzantine imagery.  

The Kiss  

‘The Kiss’ was painted in 1907-1908 by Gustav Klimt, during his ‘Golden period’, and is considered to be the most famous piece of art work he has ever produced.  The painting is painted with oil paint and gold leaf. Klimt’s ‘Golden period’ was perhaps the result of an influential insight to the world of art and craftsmanship from his father who was a Gold engraver. By observing ‘The kiss’ it is evident that Klimt’s exposure to Byzantine Frescoes mosaics of the churches of Ravenna and Japanese art were main inspirations that helped him to produce this painting.

In this painting Klimt was able to synthesize into powerful single images of simultaneous decorative and symbolic content and the Kiss is a perfect example that displays this. Here he uses various patterns, shapes and expressivity in this painting and the combination of all three is what interests me about this painting and  influences me to think about the representation and symbolism that he tries to portray in this particular painting.

Not only that but the bright use of colours mainly consisting of yellow, black and shimmering gold used to paint this is what attracts me also, the glittery gold background gives a sense of a gritty texture similar to granite on the ground in contrast to the possibly soft and smooth texture of the quilt the couple are wrapped in. I feel that these colours and contrast of textures go well together and makes the painting interesting and unique; this is why I included these elements in my final piece.

I particularly like the black rectangular shapes that add boldness to the painting and I have included this bold feature into my final piece making the shapes and patterns stand out. Klimt’s use of bold patterns, shapes and unique combination of colours are elements that inspired me to include them in my final piece.The composition of the painting makes the couple the main subject in the painting as they are placed in the center of the painting to represent that they are the main subject and the focus of attention in the image. 

Below are some more images of Klimt's work that involved the use of pattern I also find inspiring 

Street Style Fashion ( with patterns )

Street Style Fashion ( with patterns ) 

Pattern is the repetition of an element and can be achievable through the use of colours, lines or shapes.  Colour and shape will be an important element in relation to pattern. I have decided to title my own personal project ‘Street-Style Pattern’ as I will work towards producing a project that gives attention to the efforts of everyday people from different areas and backgrounds. Focusing on their own unique style and approach towards vintage/ modern day fashion that feature pattern and print.
 

My idea for this project was influenced by one single photo (below) I took during my pathway stage project.


I chose to go to Camden in North London to take photographs and I spotted this young man naturally posing against a brick wall that stood out from the crowd.
The unusual looking tailored suit with the sharp shoulder padded blazer intrigued me. He looked confident with his unique style and laid back attitude. I asked to take a photo and he agreed to it straight away. I wish I had more time to take more photos of him but as I was taking it I was interrupting people walking by so it was a very brief encounter. 

My Tutors in College particularly liked this photo and suggested some great ideas for me to consider and be creative with. 

My proposed end point will be to create a published book that will display my street fashion photography, different patterns and distorted images with the use of reflection, rotation and translation. I would also like to create promotional material for the book by creating a banner that displays some patterned work of mine including some typography.