FEMME AU CHAPEAU

If I had to choose one artist whose work I could live with for the rest of my life, it would undoubtably be Henri Matisse. His body of work features such a wide range of styles, but he always stayed true to what he viewed as the most important aspect--color.

For this ensemble, I was inspired by my very favorite Matisse painting--Femme au Chapeau or Woman with Hat, 1905.

When the painting, a portrait of Matisse's wife, Amélie, was exhibited at the Salon d'Automne in 1905, the color scheme caused an outrage.

Another painting of his wife, Madame Matisse ("The Green Line"), 1912, shows Matisse's further exploration of abstraction without any loss of color.

In yet another portrait of his wife, also from 1912, the face becomes strictly a portrait of black and white value. I've always found it interesting to see the variations in the ways Matisse portrayed the same subject--in this case, Amélie Matisse.

Click here to read a provocative article from the Smithsonian magazine on the importance of models, including Amélie, to the ouevre of Matisse.

Originally inspired by Woman with Hat, I combined a bright blouse and hat in the colors of Matisse's painting. I added the green bag as a nod to The Green Line, and denim to reflect the cool blues of the final portrait of Amélie.

I'm wearing a Zac Posen for Target blouse, BCBG hat, Cheap Monday jeans, Castaner wedges, my mother's vintage frog belt, and a Marc by Marc Jacobs leather tote.

[Matisse photos from tysonrobichaudphotography.files.wordpress.com, artchooser.com, and hibiscusguesthousechingola.com, respectively.]