12/26/2023 0 Comments La fenetre ouverte matisseThe subject of an open window was a recurring motif for Matisse and features in several more paintings on this self-guided walk around Collioure. The subject matter (an open window at evening time) means that an exact location for where the artist stood is unimportant but it has been assumed that it was somewhere along Al Boramar, where the artist did have a studio for some of the time he was in Collioure. The next panel shows a canvas by Matisse entitled Porte fenêtre à Collioure, septembre–octobre 1914 (Musée d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris). Again the fishing boats are absent from the scene and as with the painting by Matisse, the artist has brought the headland on the far right into the frame of the picture. The title refers to the church tower which was once used as a lighthouse and this and other architectural elements are still easily recogniseable. This would appear to be painted from an elevated position behind the beach, possibly from a balcony of one of the houses. The castle wall on the right and the distant collection of houses with the church of the Dominican Convent on the left can still be identified, but the new harbour wall obscures the foreground beach with its line of fishing boats drawn up on the shore and this dramatic visual element is completely missing.Ĭlose by there is a panel on the wall at the back of the esplanade and the subject of this is a pen and ink sketch by Matisse called Barques à Collioure, été 1905 (Musée d’Art Moderne de Céret/ The distinctive sails of the traditional fishing boats are now a rare sight indeed but pleasure yachts are a good substitute for the vessels in the distance.Ī few steps further on there is a panel featuring Derain’s painting called Le Phare de Collioure, été 1905 (Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris). There are still one or two traditional fishing boats but these are there mainly to provide photo-opportunities.Ī little further along on the wall of the tourist office is the second panel for Le Faubourge de Collioure, été 1905 by André Derain (Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris/ This panel would seem not to be in quite the right place and the view is more recogniseable further along the beach infront of the outside tables of Le Petite Café. Whatever boats there are are mainly pleasure craft and these are to be found tied up to jetties of recent construction. The boats drawn up on the beach are an important element in this and many other paintings and they are mainly absent in the present scene. The artist has also brought the headland on the right into the frame of the picture. The principal element of the picture, the church with its distinctive tower, remains much the same, but development of the promenade with extensive cafe seating now obscures the beach. On the wall behind the esplanade there is a panel which shows Vue de Collioure, l’église, été 1905 by Henri Matisse (Private collection). Leaving the office, which is on the Quai de l’Amirauté close to the footbridge over the Douy, turn left to the corner of Boulevard du Boramar. These are marked by information panels and there is a full-colour (French-only) guide from the Espace Fauve and it is from here that the walk commences. There is an excellent route around the two districts of the old town where Matisse and Derain took their inspiration and painted some of their most iconic images.
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