''Blue Nude (Souvenir of Biskra)'' ("Nu bleu, Souvenir de Biskra"), an early 1907 oil painting on canvas by
Henri Matisse
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...
, is located at the
Baltimore Museum of Art
The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is an art museum that was founded in 1914. The BMA's collection of 95,000 objects encompasses more than 1,000 works by Henri Matisse anchored by the Cone Collection of ...
as part of the
Cone Collection.
Matisse painted the nude when a sculpture he was working on shattered. He later finished the sculpture which is entitled ''Reclining Nude I (Aurore)''.
Matisse shocked the French public at the 1907
Société des Artistes Indépendants
The Société des Artistes Indépendants (''Society of Independent Artists'') or Salon des Indépendants was formed in Paris on 29 July 1884. The association began with the organization of massive exhibitions in Paris, choosing the slogan "''sans ...
when he exhibited ''Blue Nude (Souvenir de Biskra)''. ''Blue Nude'' was one of the paintings that would later create an international sensation at the
Armory Show of 1913
The 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was a show organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors in 1913. It was the first large exhibition of modern art in America, as well as one of t ...
in New York City.
["Matisse, Henri." Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2007]
The painting, which may be classified as
Fauvist
Fauvism /ˈfoʊvɪzm̩/ is the style of ''les Fauves'' (French language, French for "the wild beasts"), a group of early 20th-century modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the Representation (arts), repr ...
, was controversial; it was burned in effigy in 1913 at the
Armory Show
The 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was a show organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors in 1913. It was the first large exhibition of modern art in America, as well as one of ...
in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, to where it had toured from New York. In 1907 the painting had a strong effect on
Georges Braque
Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...
and
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
, partially motivating Picasso to create ''
Les Demoiselles D'Avignon
''Les Demoiselles d'Avignon'' (''The Young Ladies of Avignon'', originally titled ''The Brothel of Avignon'') is a large oil painting created in 1907 by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. The work, part of the permanent collection of the Museum o ...
''.
When ''Blue Nude'' was publicly exhibited soon after it was painted, it became the source of controversy that involved issues of race, race relations, and colonialism. Complaints by critics and viewers that the race of the figure in ''Blue Nude'' could not be identified, complicated the issue of "the Other". The ability to identify "the Other" was crucial to the mindset of colonizers, and a major aspect of the colonization program.
See also
* ''
100 Great Paintings
''100 Great Paintings'' is a British television series broadcast in 1980 on BBC 2, devised by Edwin Mullins.http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/series/11652 13 January 2007 He chose 20 thematic groups, such as war, the ...
'', 1980 BBC series
References
External links
The Cone Collection
1907 paintings
Fauvism
Nude art
Paintings by Henri Matisse
Post-impressionist paintings
Paintings in the collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art
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