Analysis Of Porte-Fenêtre À Collioure By Henri Matisse

Porte- fenêtre à Collioure also known as Fenêtre ouverte is a painting by Henri Matisse. The work was painted in 1914 and Matisse kept the painting until his death. He died in 1954 but the Porte- fenêtre à Collioure was first exhibited in 1966. Matisse painted numerous of paintings of the theme of the window at Collioure. Without looking at the title of the painting it is hard to identify the elements in the painting. This is probably Matisse’s one of the most abstract painting. Unlike his other paintings at Collioure, this one does not articulate the interior and the exterior space clearly. In fact, there is no details of the interior the exterior, just three colours and rectangular shape. The subject of the painting is this window that is merging with the rectangle of the picture. The theme of the window is symbolising this continuity between interior space and the landscape. For Matisse, the window is not separating inside and outside.
In his other paintings with a view of outside actually has a view but this one does not. It does but its just some darkness. There window opens into some darkness and the centre of the picture is one large dark rectangle. He painted During 1914, when he painted this painting the World War was beginning and the window is opening to some darkness or some uncertainty of that time. Unlike in his other paintings with french window, Matisse did not intend to show the view from his studio. As it was dated after 1914, he wanted to show the theme about war. Whereas, war is something unpredictable and future is not clear its