Open Window, Collioure
1905 National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
About this artwork
This oil painting depicts the view from a window in Collioure, France, featuring a balcony, sea, and sky. It is a defining work of the Fauvist movement, characterized by vibrant color and expressive, gestural brushwork.
Did you know?
Painted in 1905 during a transformative summer in the coastal town of Collioure, this work captures the revolutionary spirit of Fauvism. Matisse and his colleague André Derain pushed the boundaries of color, choosing hues not to describe the scene as it looked, but to express how it felt to be in the Mediterranean light. Their radical approach led critics to dub them 'les fauves' or 'the wild beasts,' a label they embraced as a badge of artistic liberation.
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Open Window, Collioure
Henri Matisse, 1905
