Woman with a Hat

Among the best known and most loved paintings of Henri Matisse, we find Women with a Hat. Painted in 1905 by the artist, it was first exhibited at the Salon d’Automne in Paris, in a room that contained a number of similar paintings as well as a classic statue. Critic Loius Vauxcelles subsequently described this as “Donatello among the Wild beasts” (wild beast being fauvres in French). The Fauvism artistic movement was thus named.

Woman with a Hat is painted in this style that became known as Fauvism. Colors are applied liberally and in saturated form, independent of the true colors of the subject. This led to critique like the paintings looking like a pot of paint has been flung at the canvas. The painting also features a rather heavy brush work which was also typical for this school. The independent use of color to express certain feelings to the viewing audience has also led to the perception of paintings like Woman in a Hat being part of expressionism.

Among the influences for Fauvism are artists like Cezanne and Gauguin, especially the Tahitian works of the later. Gauguin is also quoted as telling artist Paul Serusier:

“How do you see these trees? They are yellow. So, put in yellow; this shadow, rather blue, paint it with pure ultramarine; these red leaves? Put in vermilion”

This is a clear movement towards what would become Fauvism.

Woman with a Hat was first bought by Sarah Stein, sister-in-law to Gertrude Stein, at the Salon d’Automne in 1905. She later sold the painting to her friend Elise Haas who in turn donated in to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Arts where it can be found today.