Monday, April 13, 2009

Happy birthday to me...
























Since it's my birthday and this is my blog, I get to post one of my favorite paintings. It makes my heart sing. Enjoy.

For a high-resolution image (showing entirely different color than the one above), and a full catalog of Matisse's work, visit the Henri Matisse official website.
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Image:
View of Notre Dame
Henri Matisse
Paris, quai Saint-Michel, spring 1914
Oil on canvas, 58 x 37 1/8" (147.3 x 94.3 cm)
Museum of Modern Art, NYC

2 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday, Julia!
    My Mother's birthday is April 13th.
    I'd like to hear more about WHY this is one of your favorite paintings.

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  2. Hi Terry, thank you so much! I had a truly wonderful day. Happy (belated) birthday to your Mom, too. And thanks for your question. I'm devilishly tempted to just answer that I like it, but that would be a cop out, wouldn't it? So I'll just say that for me, this picture contains everything that went before and everything that is to come in painting. It is just as raw, felt and finely distilled from the studies that led to it as it was when it was painted. It will never cease to be modern. Painted from the heart and gut with no concern for anything but to tell the painter's truth. That's about as close as I can come.

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