Matisse @ Met, c'est Magnifique

The Matisse in Search of True Painting is the new exhibit @ the MET by one of the world's most acclaimed artists for the 1st 1/2 of the 20thC.  With any exhibit of Matisse's oil paintings, you expect aesthetically pleasing paintings by the master.  But, at the age of 30 in 1829, Matisse was unsure of his ability to support his family through his art.  Matisse's early paintings were mainly still lifes because the expense of hiring models exceeded his means.  His first 2 paintings were small still lifes of the same composition but done in 2 very different styles.  These 2 works were later incorporated into his larger composition of Side Board and Table.  What makes this exhibit so fascinating are the pairings of his replicated subject matter in diverse styles.  His early works were greatly influenced by Cezanne & Signac.  Matisse objective for repetitive compositions was to "push further and deeper into true painting."  He believed the process was paramount to the result.  While admiring both Sailor I and Sailor II, one patron asked his friend which painting she preferred.  His companion voiced a preference.  Perhaps, it is too easy to compare works that are similar but it certainly misses the point.  From Matisse's apartment in Paris, he had a vantage of Notre Dame of which he never tired. "For me it is always new."  The multiple paintings of Notre Dame are all exquisite and unique.  No one will leave without an appreciation for Matisse's magnificient oil paintings which span his earliest works in 1829 until he stopped painting in 1948.  Perhaps, many of you with leave with an appreciation for looking at things that are the same but seeing them in new & different ways.