Erika Holmquist-Wall

It’s interesting, you know. Matisse was born in the northern part of France, very near to the Belgian border. And his early years have had much more of a northern sensibility, and he painted a lot of dark paintings. And when he married Amélie, his wife, she was from the more southern part of France and he started going to visit his in-laws. And really, I think become interested in the difference in light in different parts of the world and different parts even of his own country. When he got to Nice, I think he really opened up to this new life of beautiful color, beautiful light, beautiful food, beautiful people, it just was a more relaxing and very productive place for him to be. There was much less stress and I think his years in Paris and his success is about making great pictures.

And I think when you got to Nice, it’s sort of like, he took a huge breath and calmed and everything was very, was much easier for him. And he was able to produce great pictures and have a relaxing and comfortable life there. And so maybe the early years in Nice I guess, you could think of as being a little bit lighter, a little bit airier, as he is enjoying his new freedom or a new sense of peace. But I think as the decade goes on, he may be starting to feel like it’s time for the next phase.