Matisse's Chapelle du Rosaire - Assignment Example

Lecturer Essay # Matisses late work at the Chapelle du Rosaire Henri Matisse designed and decorated the Chapelle du Rosairetowards the end of his life, and considered this chapel as his masterpiece. Although Matisse had no previous experience in building design, he viewed this as an artistic challenge. The chapel, like most of Matisse’s work, is about simplicity and color. The most outstanding feature of the chapel is the glass windows that reflect their colors onto the white floors. Matisse used three main colors for these stained glass windows: yellow, green and blue.

The two windows behind the Alter, named the ‘Tree of Life’, represent the themes of life and growth with their patterns of leaves and foliage. Unlike his previous works that involved the use of paint, Matisse mainly used light as his main material. Light passes through the windows, thereby allowing the colors of the windows to flood the entire chapel. The murals on the walls are done by use of black paint on the white tiles. For instance, at the back of the chapel, Matisse made a single composition of the fourteen Stations of the Cross.

This was meant to signify suffering, pain and anguish- which are unique features of Matisse’s art. This suffering and pain is however neutralized by the light from the ‘Tree of Life’, the set of two windows located opposite of the fourteen Stations of the Cross. In creating the chapel, Matisse wanted to come up with a piece of work that helped relieve pain and anguish for those who visited it. The chapel is such a serene and moving space that helps people find the peace and ease their burdens.

Works Cited BBC,. Matisse. 2011. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.