Henri Matisse, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Dance (I)
by Henri Matisse, 1909
Artwork Details
Details
- Year
- 1909
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 259.7 cm × 390.1 cm (102.2 × 153.6 in)
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Henri Matisse painted this Dance (I) in 1909 as a study for a larger commissioned work. Five nude figures join hands and dance in a circle against bands of blue sky and green earth. The red-orange bodies create a primal rhythm of color and movement.
Matisse simplified the composition to its essence: bodies, space, movement. The Fauvist colors are deliberately unrealistic, evoking pure emotion rather than describing nature. Russian collector Sergei Shchukin commissioned the final version, which hangs in the Hermitage. This preliminary version, equally powerful, belongs to MoMA.
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About Dance (I)
Dance (I) at MoMA is a study with softer pink tones. Dance (II) at the Hermitage is the final version with intense vermillion figures. Both show the same composition.
Sergei Shchukin, a Russian textile merchant, commissioned Dance and Music for his Moscow mansion. After the Revolution, his collection became state property, now at the Hermitage.
Dance exemplifies Fauvism, with its bold, non-naturalistic colors. The movement's name means 'wild beasts.' Matisse was its leading figure alongside André Derain.
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