Daisy Wearing a Hat
- Original dimensions
- 64.1 x 80 cm
- Museum
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Year
- 1918
Scene depicted
The painting , peacefully anchored in the Fauvist tradition, features a delicate feminine silhouette, elegant and serene. The Marguerite, with her flamboyant hat, seems to escape from a tangible world to enter a universe of captivating colors. Each brushstroke evokes a thrill of life, a dance between lightness and depth, where innocence and beauty brush against each other.
Historical context
Created in 1918 in the vibrant city of Paris, this painting is firmly rooted in the Fauvist movement, revolutionizing art with its chromatic boldness. At a time when France was emerging from the troubles of World War I, Matisse, as a true pioneer, oscillated between expression and abstraction, paving the way for a new aesthetic that still transcends today. This canvas , currently housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art , thus embodies the essence of the post-war period in its quest for light and vibrant colors.
Place in the artist's career
This painting , both bold and poetic, is situated at a turning point in Matisse's career. At the height of his art, he offers here a composition that dialogues with other iconic canvases from his period, such as “La Danse” and “La Musique,” revealing an increasingly refined approach to color and form.
Anecdote
“Beauty is found at every street corner, you just have to open your eyes wide,” said Matisse. That morning, as he walked through the sunny streets of Nice, his gaze was captured by the gentle curves of a Marguerite adorned with a hat. This fleeting moment became the creative spark that illuminated the masterpiece he was about to conceive, a vibrant tribute to the lightness of the human soul.