Matisse's "Lilacs" - Chaos, Sex and Nazis

So this one really caught my eye. I've been a fan of Henri Matisse for a long time, but it was my first encounter with this particular piece, "Lilacs" (1914). The interesting twist that separates this one from your typical still-life is that the artist has left small patches of the canvas seemingly blank.

Henri Matisse (1869-1954) - Lilacs (1914) Image source: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Now, Matisse was no lazy painter. And as I stand interlocked with the brush strokes, I realize that there was never a need to "complete" the painting. Matisse gives you just enough wiggle room to be a part of the work; to fill in the blank with your own mind. At the same time, he gives you just enough of a foundation that you cannot alter the actual object beyond the artist's own will. The areas in the flowers, the pipe and the figurine... all can be scrutinized and end up being culturally "colored" differently, but the fact remains that these will stay flowers, a pipe and a figurine. I have to say, a little existentialism always brightens my day!

I also noticed that Matisse provides the viewer with a scapegoat, in the form of the seated figure. The use of chaotic line and color variation creates an element of confusion and anxiety. In addition, there is dual directionality. This is caused first by the change of shade as it swoops in from the upper left, along the left side, and pointed by the pipe towards the bottom right. At the same time the broad expanse of flowers in the upper left condenses as your eye moves diagonally to the bottom right, culminating in a point (stem). This directs all of the chaos towards the figure, which is seated in a fashion symbolic of hopelessness and depression (and often used as such by his greatest rival, Picasso). The spear points in its back, inviting you to bestow your rage on whoever your mind paints into this space.

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) - The Blue Nude (1902) Image source: Reproduction print in my bedroom

Interesting that Matisse chose to use this painting for the 1937 exhibition in Berlin, which was jointly organized by the Nazis and French and excluded all foreign born and/or Jewish artists. Maybe he saw it coming, even back in 1914.

People say that you don't truly know something until you've experienced it. And as I look back one last time the Lilacs are like a parting gift, saying... "Thanks for the sex."