We close this lecture with Le Bonheur de Vivre (The Joy of Life) (1905). We
see a wonderful pair of ¿ gures in the right-hand corner, literally united in
love; only one head serves for both of them. We also see a ¿ gure reclining
in the foreground playing pan pipes, a ¿ gure plucking at the grass, and one
standing with arms raised, almost like wings. In the middle background is a
group engaged in a circle dance. Note the beautiful trees that vary in color,
showing every possible delicate tone in the palette. This sylvan glade with its
pastoral nymphs, fauns, lovers, and dancers delights the eye—as long as we
don’t expect reality. We can, however, understand the painting Classically.
The correct translation of the title in English is “Good Hour of Life,” which
is a Classical reference to the Golden Age of Man, before the disruptive strife
of industry and warfare supplanted the pastoral, agricultural “Eden.” This
Golden Age was the subject of many paintings and poems in the Renaissance
and Baroque eras, especially in Venetian art, and was the basic reference
point for Matisse.
This is a masterpiece of early-20th-century color painting in France, and its
impact was enormous. Matisse himself would follow his own lead, as we
shall see in the next lecture, but other painters, French and non-French, would
also ¿ nd it irresistible and inspiring. Unfortunately, World War I destroyed
Arcadia, and the new Golden Age that many artists, writers, and musicians
had ardently hoped was dawning disappeared in the trenches. Ŷ
Paul Gauguin:
Day of the God (Mahana no Atua), 1894, oil on canvas, 27 x 36”
(68.3 x 91.5 cm), Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection, The Art
Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
The Yellow Christ, 1889, oil on canvas, 36 ¼ x 28 ¾” (92 x 73 cm),
Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, New York, USA.Henri Matisse:
Le Bonheur de Vivre (The Joy of Life), 1905, 5’ 8 ½” x 7’ 9 ¾”
(7.14 x 2.38 cm), Barnes Foundation, Merion, Pennsylvania, USA.Works Discussed