Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse as Rivals - Essay Example

The essay "Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse as Rivals" highlights the rivalry of two of the twentieth century’s renowned artists Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Matisse Picasso is the first exhibition that was dedicated to the enduring dialogue of the two artists. They were impressed by the artistic prowess of each other from the time they met in 1906. Matisse Picasso tells a story of two artists who were driven to great accomplishments despite their personal differences. Matisse and Picasso’s subject stories captured nursing as a significant topic in their artworks.

A model for Matisse, one of the most intriguing stories on Matisse follows the story of a nun called Jacques-Marie. She was hired as a nurse for Matisse in 1941 when he was sick. While attending to his medical needs, she became close to him, a model, spiritual guide and an inspiration for Matisse’s art. Jacques-Marie also known as Monique Bourgeois responded to an advertisement placed by Henri Matisse. He was in search of a young, beautiful night nurse. As their friendship got stronger Matisse’s work also got better.

He created a work that he considered as his greatest life achievement. He called it The Chapel of the Rosary in Venice. Matisse referred to Marie as The True Initiator of the Chapel. When Matisse asked Marie about his work, she told Matisse that she likes the colors but not the drawings. This made Matisse repeat his works to the desired perfection. This was after he discovered that Marie was an amateur artist. (Matisse, Cowling and Picasso 13). Picasso, on the other hand, did a painting that depicted a mother nursing an infant.

He dated a young woman called Eva who died shortly after. He moved on to date and later marry Olga, a Russian woman. They had a boy child together before their relationship deteriorated. Picasso had an affair with a nurse called Marie-Therese Walter. These events influenced his later works including his painting of a mother breastfeeding an infant (Matisse, Cowling and Picasso 34). In the artistic exchange of the two artists, Matisse wanted to articulate an assenting vision of the world. Picasso, on the other hand, wanted everything.

Matisse was generous in his artwork and expressions. Picasso had a panache for the new, the unanticipated issues in his work. He created new pieces of work. Matisse strengthened the interaction of color in his pieces of work, while Picasso’s work emphasized on the structure and form. The polarity that existed between them was strong. Thus, they needed each other’s comparison and contrast to keep their artistic work at their best. The works of these two artists can be likened to the nursing profession (Matisse, Cowling and Picasso 263).

Nurses are professionals who must always attend to their patients with care. They must always be closer to their patients, know what they need and understand their entire medical concerns. They need to be gentle and respectful. They work with other professionals in their places of work based on work interests, as opposed to friendship. Picasso and Matisse present narrative subjects that can be applied to the nursing profession. They two artists had a relationship such as that shared by a nurse and a doctor.

Nurses and doctors are not brought together by friendship but need. A doctor needs a nurse to help in delivering his work. The nurse must help the doctor perform minor responsibilities at the place of work. However, their needs force them to work together for the benefit of the two. Picasso and Matisse’s relationship was based on their needs rather than friendship. Picasso worked with a certain form of eruptive and emotional need while Matisse worked with function