As one’s own creation
Introduction
The famous painter Henry Emile Benoit Matisse created Le Bonheur de vivre, also known as The Joy of life in 1905 to 1906. It is regarded as one of his best works altogether, especially as his greatest Fauve painting. With bold use of colours, silhouette and emotions, the painting is definitely a masterpiece. Born in 1869, Henry Matisse was regarded as one of the three artists who revolutionised the plastic arts in early 20th century (Searle, 2002 ). This creative essay illumines the analysis of Le Bonheur de vivre by the writer as a painting made by him/her only.
Le bonheur de vivre and its features in the writer’s words
The classical art is beautiful. But it does not mean that what is non-classical cannot be pleasing. You would have heard me more than twice mentioning that I always want to draw paintings which provide peace to the beholder. And I also focus on that there should not be restrictions regarding which colour is used to paint which part of the body. When it comes to Le bonhuer de vivr, I have used multifarious colours, scintillating human figures in unequal proportions and several emotions which represent the joy of life.
Let us talk about the theme and message first; I shall describe the structure later. If one observes the picture for half a minute, it becomes clear that it is depicting some vital joys of life. There is a couple kissing each other in right side of the bottom. This depicts romance and togetherness in solitude. It is one of the most indispensable parts of life- love! We cannot
live without this significant joy of nature. Then, the central figure in bottom depicts a person playing double flute in a relaxed position. It again illuminates one more from the joys of life- music. It has always been essential and that’s why it makes its place in life. Similarly there are more than ten nude figures portraying various crucial processes and emotions in life. The painting in the middle of the page depicts two women in playful spirits in a position to relax as well as talk. One falls in love, indulges in romance and finds a lie partner to create a family. A woman is a lover, wife and eventually mother. There are other buxom women with their body exposed on canvas which represents the various important stages in life. The very emotion of human life is quite clear in this painting. The moments of socialising has also been illustrated here.
I like drawing the nude human figures with a positive light. Hence, the picture has quite a different look from what other artists sold in that era.
Now let me explain the outline, use of colours and depiction of theme. As it can be seen clearly, there is a bold use of colours all over the painting. It not only adds hues to the paintings but also develops an interesting contrast between colours which help add to the emotions behind a painting. The shades of dark and light orange, yellow and green are the prominent colours to have been used in the painting. It would not take much time or effort to recognise that the traditional ways to colour a picture has been changed. Now the colour is flowing from the sky to the ground. The amazing contrast between the dark and bright colours makes it quite an interesting piece to watch.
The outline of this painting is very interesting. As evident, the woman’s curvaceous body has been empathised on. I have used a contrasting shade around the silhouette of women to illustrate their figure as well as add a better appearance on the whole. It is also clear that I have made the trunk and branches of tree as if they too are curvaceous like a lady.
In fact the black outline of the human figures as well as the tree trunks looks quite feminine yet powerful.
One of the most remarkable features of this painting is the shifting of scale. There are more than twenty people drawn one the canvas. But each group has a different ration to portray the vital statistics of women. I painted this with a vision in my mind- everyone perceives the world in the way they want. Also, we all have different priorities in life now. Sometimes we give the utmost importance to our lover and other times, to socialising with others.
Talking of the colour and design let me clearly speak that it is all meant to soothe the beholder. The colours are vibrant, they give energy instantly but the theme is really soothing along with the specific paintings. So, these qualities make Le bonheur de vivre a masterpiece. It can tranquilise a mind; it can raise spirits up. The outline of women has been darkened and even thickened to focus both on the curves and theme. If you look at the top of the painting, it is clear that the chosen colours are imparting it a rich appearance.
I have always loved to use bright colours which are not natural at times like green face, blur body, orange trees and mauve sky. It does not look odd; it looks vibrant with life. Colours have a power to instil the theme in the mind of the beholder.
I agree that the human figures shown here are nude. But it has not been done at all to depict vulgarity. It is merely for natural beauty and sensuality in the right balance. Artists like Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin have always been inspirational to me. So, I find nude human figures to be beautiful as well as powerful way to depict a message close to nature as well as emotions.
Le Bonheur de vivre is imbued in vivacious hues. It pulsates with various aspects of human life. And that is why it is called as the Joy of Life.
References
Searle, Adrian. . 2002. Retrieved on 27 Nov 2012
