Fauvism & Expressionism · 1905

The Green Stripe

Henri Matisse 1869–1954

The Green Stripe (1905) by Henri Matisse. Its palette is led by light aqua (#72a995, 24%) and scarlet red (#b35f48, 17%), with accents of dark muted blue, pale gold, muted azure teal and dark muted azure teal. Overall the canvas is light, vivid and warm.

Color note

Matisse led the Fauves, who used pure, unmixed color for expression; his Woman with a Hat caused a scandal at the 1905 Salon d'Automne.

Palette

#72a995 MG 075 light aqua 23.7% of canvas
#b35f48 MG 016 scarlet red 16.9% of canvas
#28314c MG 099 dark muted blue 13.2% of canvas
#bd767b MG 004 light crimson 12.8% of canvas
#ebd092 MG 036 pale gold 12.2% of canvas
#cb97bc MG 131 light purplish violet 7.8% of canvas
#4c7d76 MG 082 muted azure teal 6.8% of canvas
#365753 MG 084 dark muted azure teal 6.7% of canvas

Color families

Red 20%, Green 19%, Blue 18%, Brown 12%, Gray 6%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.61
Contrast: 0.54
Vividness: 0.071
Warmth: +0.35
Complexity: 166 cells
Hue range: 0.85
Focus: 0.00

Composition

53% of the visual weight is in the left half, 54% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.67 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 29% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 27% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1905
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 40.5 × 32.5 cm
Genre: portrait
Collection: Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen

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More by Henri Matisse

The Open Window, 1905
Woman with a hat, 1905
The Joy of Life, 1906
The Dessert: Harmony in Red (The Red Room), 1907