Charting the legacy of Matisse's pivotal Fauvist painting across 120 years

Published with San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Henri Matisse's Femme au chapeau (Woman with a Hat) was at the center of a rupture in the history of modern art. Its debut at the 1905 Salon d'Automne in Paris ignited passionate controversy, leading to its establishment as a key image of Fauvism, the first French avant-garde movement of the 20th century. The painting also marked a pivotal moment in Matisse's career, as it captured the attention of American collectors Leo and Gertrude Stein, who acquired the work on the last day of the exhibition. Woman with a Hat later made its way to the collection of their brother and sister-in-law, Michael and Sarah Stein, who brought it across the Atlantic to the Bay Area in 1935. Matisse's painting was shown in the United States for the first time early the next year, in an exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Art (now SFMoMA). Since entering the museum's collection in 1991, it has continued to influence contemporary artists, who derive inspiration from its bold approach to color and form.
This publication examines in unprecedented depth how this portrait of Matisse's wife, Amélie, made its mark on art history. Positioning Matisse in dialogue with his predecessors, contemporaries, collaborators and successors, this volume probes the painting's historical context and impact over more than 120 years.
Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was a pillar of the Parisian avant-garde. His innovations were the use of vibrant, arbitrary colors; bold brushstrokes; and a flattening of spatial depth. He often applied his thoroughly modern style to traditional subjects such as still lifes, landscapes and portraits that express a sense of timeless joy and stillness.