The Joy of Living: A Fauvist Manifesto

Henri Matisse (1869-1954), The Joy of Life, 1905, oil on canvas, 175 x 241 cm, Barnes Foundation (Philadelphia).

Henri Matisse's The Joy of Life (or The Joy of Living ), painted in 1905 and exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants in 1906, marks a decisive turning point in the history of 20th-century art. This monumental canvas (174 x 238 cm), now housed at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, embodies the revolutionary spirit of Fauvism and demonstrates a radical break with the artistic conventions of its time.

Born in 1869 in the Hauts-de-France region, Henri Matisse established himself as a key figure in modern painting. His career, situated at the crossroads of 19th-century innovations, at a time when Impressionism was overturning established codes, unfolded in a context of profound artistic transformation. During a stay in Collioure, alongside André Derain, another pillar of Fauvism, Matisse began an innovative reflection on the art of his time, which would culminate in The Joy of Living .

At first glance, The Joy of Living presents a classical iconography: naked nymphs and shepherds embrace, dance, play the flute, and pick flowers in a bucolic landscape, crossed by a stream. This idyllic scene evokes the country concerts and bacchanalia of mythological and pastoral traditions widely represented by classical artists from the Renaissance to the 19th century such as Mantegna, Poussin, Watteau etc. However, behind this apparent classical continuity, Matisse proceeds to subvert traditional codes.

The format of the canvas, worthy of a history painting, reinforces the impression of a monumental work. However, the bodies depicted depart from academic canons. The classical nude, with its pinkish flesh and idealized forms, gives way to bodies in pale, almost cadaverous tones, thus breaking with tradition. This deliberate deconstruction of forms and colors became the signature of Fauvism, a movement of which Matisse was one of the leaders.

A comparison with Auguste-Dominique Ingres's The Golden Age , presented at the 1862 Salon, illustrates this contrast. Where Ingres offers classical harmony, Matisse introduces dissonance in form and color. While the theme of The Joy of Living recalls that of Luxury, Calm and Voluptuousness, an earlier work by Matisse, its pictorial treatment is far more radical. The colors are applied in bold flat tints, the contrasts exacerbated, and the whole exudes a disturbing harmony.

The Joy of Life is, above all, a bold celebration of color. Before creating this work, Matisse executed two preparatory sketches. The first, Landscape at Collioure (1905, now at MoMA), presents a stripped-down landscape composed of rapid, jerky strokes of color. The second, closer to the final painting, already prefigures the vivid colors and simplified forms that characterize The Joy of Life .

In the finished work, color becomes a central, almost wild element. The two female figures in the center, with their flaming hair, are outlined in vivid red, emphasizing the curves of the naked bodies. The juxtaposition of green, blue, and yellow hues creates an undulating, merging effect between the figures and the surrounding landscape. The contours no longer model the bodies, but open them up to the overall color space, creating a fusion of human and natural forms that gives the work a unique vitality.

The simplification of forms is another key feature of The Joy of Living . The perspective, although present, is irregular, almost blurred, marked by the scale of the figures and the pyramidal composition. Bodies, trees, and animals are reduced to elementary forms, sketched by quick, fleeting lines. Faces are barely sketched, and bodies seem to melt into one another, creating a sense of perpetual motion.

This quest for simplification and purity of form responds to the complexity and detail of earlier artistic traditions. By juxtaposing warm and cool colors and reducing figures to their essence, Matisse succeeds in subverting the codes of art history while remaining part of its continuity.

Henri Matisse's The Joy of Life is much more than just a painting: it is a manifesto of Fauvism, a movement that advocated the liberation of pure color, the deconstruction of traditional forms, and a new way of perceiving and representing the world. With this work, Matisse not only marked a break with the past, but also paved the way for a new era of modern art, in which color and form became the primary vectors of artistic expression. The Joy of Life remains an iconic work, a vibrant testament to the Fauvist revolution that shaped 20th-century art.