L'atelier rouge: Matisse's masterpiece honored in Fondation Louis Vuitton exhibition

It's an exceptional work that has marked generations of artists: L'Atelier rouge, a painting byHenri Matisse, is at the heart of the exhibition presented at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, from May 4 to September 9, 2024. This exhibition deciphers the secrets of this original painting, the reasons for its success, its history, and the artistic context surrounding it.

In 1911, in his Issy-les-Moulineaux studio, Henri Matisse painted his workspace on canvas. An ordinary subject for an artist... Until Matisse added his personal touch: a layer of red paint, covering the entire subject. A detail that has marked all modern painting.

For this exhibition, the Fondation Louis Vuitton is exhibiting the famous painting, usually kept at the MoMa in New York. The exhibition also unveils the six paintings, three sculptures and one ceramic that are represented in the painting, and which were present in the painter's studio at the time he created Atelier rouge. In this way, all these works are brought together, as they were in the artist's time.

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The exhibition also highlights various works related to the painting, as well as numerous photographs and archival documents, recounting the context of the painting's creation, its history from its origin to its purchase by MoMa, and its influence on modern painting, and on artists such as Mark Rothko and Ellsworth Kelly. At the end of the tour, a film explains the latest scientific discoveries linked to the process of creating Matisse's painting.

In the exhibition, a special dialogue has been created betweenAtelier rouge and Grand Intérieur rouge, painted 40 years later. Matisse's two paintings symbolize the artist's world, his evolution and the impact that the major events of the 20th century had on him and his work.

Come to the Fondation Louis Vuitton to admire one of the most important paintings of Henri Matisse's career.