Matisse added a jumble of colourful individual brushstrokes to the drawn lines, creating a dynamic scene with a sense of immediacy. His approach is reminiscent of how Van Gogh constructed his reed pen drawings on paper: with short strokes in various directions.
Matisse owned three reed pen drawings by Van Gogh, which highlights the depth of his admiration for the artist’s work. Olive Grove in Collioure is a powerful early example of Matisse’s expressive use of colour and his new way of painting, which later became known as Fauvism.
Lisa Smit, Curator of Paintings at the Van Gogh Museum, on the work: ‘The painting is unadorned, yet the colours are so dazzling that it’s like an explosion of confetti. A Fauvist painting by Matisse is vital to effectively show the distinct influence of Van Gogh on the generation of artists that came after him. This acquisition allows the museum to fill a significant gap in its collection.’
The Van Gogh Museum displays Van Gogh’s masterpieces together with art from his time. His work is presented alongside important paintings by his sources of inspiration and contemporaries, but the museum also explores his influence on the generations that followed him.
Van Gogh was a major influence on the Fauvists, who embraced bold colours and expressive brushwork to explore the emotional power of colour from 1905 onwards. Matisse was a pioneering force in this movement. His Olive Grove in Collioure will have a lasting place on the third floor of the Van Gogh Museum’s permanent collection, in the gallery with work by artists who were directly inspired by Van Gogh in the early 20th century.
Main Image: Henri Matisse (1869 - 1954), Olive Grove in Collioure, 1905. oil, pencil and ink on canvas, 46 cm x 55 cm. Photo: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
