The Walker Art Gallery - The Aqueduct at Arcueil (by Henri Matisse) - Art Appreciation and Haiku #4

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Crimson canopied
trees embrace the Aqueduct,
in love with water.

The Aqueduct at Arcueil (by Henri Matisse)

Matisse is known to have painted outdoors in Arcueil, a suburb to the south of Paris between 1898 and 1900. The suburb is dominated by an immense aqueduct and this painting of this immense structure is an example of his early work.

While he used mostly a natural palette, Matisse began to explore techniques of adding dramatic flare to his work using colour in this painting with bold red brushstrokes highlighting the trees over the left wall.

Matisse embraced this deliberate anti-naturalistic colour style more often in later works, earning him the nickname (in artistic circles) of 'les Fauves' (the wild beast).

I personally like the impressionistic feel of this painting, it is almost psychedelic expressing, maybe, the mind-eye of the painter in how he perceived the world. Often too much focus is given in classical art to the fundamentals of perspective, framing and realism.

I would argue that often a more successful piece of art is one that allows you a glimpse into the mind of another human being, how they perceive colour and the flow of life, while still retaining some semblance of the scene being painted lol.

I try to do this in my poetry all the time, creating a scene with words, but uniquely framed within the (often strange) way I perceive the world. Too much experimenting with psychedelics as a young adult I guess 😂

But whatever the reason, that unique way that each human looks at things/scenes/issues is what is at the heart of great art and literature. It is that difference that engages the eye and brain, both with art and writing. No one wants to read a book that tells a story similar to their life exactly as they perceive the world, and it is the same with art.

_{Picture taken by me in The Walker Art Gallery.}

A Brief History of the Aqueduc d'Arcueil and Henri Matisse

As Google Maps shows the Aqueduc d'Arcueil still stands, built between 1867 - 1874 and is still in use, possibly for irrigation purposes.

It is easy to see why Matisse chose this area to paint, even when looking at the modern-day picture presented below. The suburb has an interesting charm, with a mix of more modern housing and the relatively older Aqueduct sitting above as a backdrop.

It's interesting to note that prior to the current Aqueduct that still remains at Arcueil an ancient Roman Aqueduct once ran through the exact same area. I imagine that there are many spots in this area of Arcueil that would yield esthetically pleasing frameworks within which to paint or take photographs.

_{Screenshot from Google Maps used for reference, fair use.}

As mentioned earlier, Henri Matisse only painted in the suburb of Arcueil for two years before moving on to paint in many different places as his confidence in his style (Fauvism) grew such as Brittany, where he met the veteran Impressionist Camille Pissarro, and later a small French fishing port on the Mediterranean in the summer of 1905 when his trademark use of colour really blossomed.

_{Both images are Creative commons Licence Source one & Source two - Left is a picture of Matisse, Right his Artwork Dagmar Anders}

Thanks for reading 🙂🌿

All photographs in this post are my own property, taken at The Walker Art Gallery. Banners and all other media are my own, designed using GIMP photo editing software.

Camera used - Samsung S7 Smartphone

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