Inspired-- but by what?

‘ello everyone! So glad you stopped in for another piece of my mind. My focus has shifted to art mates. I had a buddy stop in the other day, rattling off on how she saw an exhibit of Matisse and Picasso at MoMA. One, ahem, beverage after the other just propelled her through this rant on how Matisse was inspired by fabric. Now, how can a painter be inspired by fabric, you may ask. I wondered the same thing. As I looked at some of Matisse’s art, I began to see fluidity and reasoned that this must be what critics are talking about. Then I found these two articles. One says the Matisse was solely influenced by fabrics while another says that the fabric argument is only the surface—his true inspiration was modernity. Interesting theories—so I looked a little deeper. Here is what I found.

A professor of philosophy and aesthetics, Maureen Egan makes the argument that Matisse drew his inspiration from fabric alone in her article titled Matisse: Fabric of Dreams. In her article, the author’s thesis is ““Throughout his life, as Spurling notes, Matisse felt the strong influence of textiles and incorporated them into his paintings, often in radical new ways” (Egan p.3) Egan embellishes her argument with references to Matisse’s biographical information and his four stages as exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) exhibit in 2003. Egan’s mention of Matisse’s biographical information is limited to location where he grew up and briefly explains the significance of this town. “A descendent of four generations of weavers from French Flanders, Matisse (1869-1954) spent his childhood in Bohain- en-Vernandois, an area famous for handwoven luxury fabrics…” (Egan p. 1) Egan delves further into details as she discusses the four stages of Matisse’s art. According to Egan, stage one “opens with artifacts from his beginnings in Bohain and his time as a young art student in Paris, then moves on to the period before World War l.” (Egan p. 2) During stage two, “one particular piece of flowered cotton toile de Jouy became a powerful inspiration to him and began to appear prominently in his paintings” (Egan p. 2). As Matisse continued his career, stage three manifested changes made to Matisse’s creative environment—changes sure to impact his work. “Matisse's move to Nice in 1918… His studio came to resemble a small theater replete with backdrops, carpets, screens, props, and a variety of ethnic costumes.” (Egan p. 2) Fourthly, and finally, Matisse’s fourth stage took a cultural turn, perhaps another step towards the ethnicity he sought in the transformation of his space in stage three. “African fabrics that captivated Matisse and a set of religious vestments that he designed for the Chapelle du Rosaire in Venice, France, to represent the fourth period” (Egan p. 2). In summary, Egan supports her argument that Matisse was strongly inspired by fabric by making reference to his upbringing and the four stages of his work as exhibited at MoMA. In Alan Powers’ article, Pattern and Painting, the author argues that though Matisse was inspired by fabrics, but that fabric was just an element of an entire cultural movement that was the true stem of inspiration. Without the existing conditions, the fabric would not be important. Powers’ thesis states, ““The textile 'story' in Matisse's life is there for anyone to see… This affinity was not merely a biographical accident, however. It was a symptom of a wider cultural movement within Modernism, one whose significance has still to be fully acknowledged” (Powers p. 1). To support his argument, Powers draws his evidence from Matisse’s biographical information, as did Egan. However, Powers does not stop at mentioning that the young artist grew up in a fashion town. According to Powers, Matisse grew up in a “town whose economy of textiles soon went into an overdrive of productivity to feed the fashions of a Paris recovering from the bitter aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war” (Powers p.1). With this evidence, Powers says that the people of Paris turned to modernity to relieve themselves of grief caused by war. He continues along this track saying, “…the young artist's principal visual stimulus in an otherwise grim upbringing would have been these extraordinary untutored flowers of the industrial wilderness” (Powers p. 1). Translation to more digestible terms: if Matisse hadn’t been in this town, perhaps his talent would not have been cultivated. In essence, Powers’ article argues that the influence of fabric in Matisse’s art is merely a tip of the iceberg. Though he was influenced by fabrics, Powers states that the influx of modernity in the local culture surrounding Matisse as he grew up was the true seed from which his art stemmed.
Egan & Powers agree that Matisse was inspired by fabric and that he was exposed to fabric as a child. However, Egan says that Matisse was inspired by fabric. Powers makes the argument that fabric was just a product of Matisse’s true inspiration: modernism. In my opinion, I believe that if these two opinions were fused together, the product would be a more all-encompassing argument. At first glance, the texts seem to feud over Matisse’s source of inspiration—was it fabric or modern culture? Both arguments provide factual information drawn from the artist’s biographical history while also examining his art. One author chooses to focus on the art (Egan) while another focuses on biographical history (Powers). I do not believe either is wrong. I believe both are correct in their theories. In my view the opinions do no necessarily counter one another. Matisse is critically acclaimed for having been inspired by fabric, as exhibited in his four stages. History also tells us that not only Parisian culture, but worldwide, after the tragedy of war, citizens look for something new to embrace. For Parisians in the time of Matisse, that new, fresh hope was modernity.
The work of Matisse is truly fascinating. I encourage you to ponder some of his work to draw your own conclusions. Was he truly inspired by fabric? Modernity? Perhaps he was inspired by a tasty, tropical indulgence? I am off to attempt inspiration with a pina colada. Cheers, mates!

Egan, Maureen. “Matisse: Fabric of Dreams.” Fiberarts vol. 32 no. 1 (Summer 2005): pages 8-9. WilsonWeb Art Full Text. UNC Libraries, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 2 April 2007. < _requestid="4263">

Henri Matisse and the Fauves. 2007. The National Gallery of Art. 9 April 2007.

MoMA The Museum of Modern Art. 2007. The Museum of Modern Art. 9 April 2007

Powers, Alan. “Patterns and Painting.” Crafts (London/England) no. 193 (March/April; 2005): pages 26-31. Wilson Web Art Full Text. UNC Libraries, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 2 April 2007. < _requestid="4406">