The Music Lesson
1917
Matisse invites us into a cozy, slightly chaotic domestic scene where music is clearly the main character. On the left, a man—likely a self-portrait of the artist—sits quietly reading, seemingly ignoring the piano lesson happening just behind him where a woman and young boy focus on a Pleyel piano. The room is packed with musical clues, like a violin resting on a pink table and a book of Haydn scores, while a massive, vibrant painting of a garden with a sculpture dominates the background wall. It's a brilliant example of Matisse playing with perspective, flattening the space so the background artwork feels just as close as the people in the room.
- Technique
- Oil on canvas
- Material
- Canvas
Location: Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia
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