Matisse Open Window – 1000-piece puzzle

Open Window in Collioure – Henri Matisse (1905)

Open Window at Collioure is one of the most emblematic paintings of Fauvism , an artistic movement that Matisse helped found. The work was created in the summer of 1905 during a stay by the artist in the port town of Collioure , in southern France.

The painting depicts an open window onto a balcony overlooking the Mediterranean . Inside the room, warm, intense tones dominate: the walls, windowsill, and flowerpots are painted in bright colors, while outside, the port with its boats and the sea can be glimpsed, rendered with quick brushstrokes and pure colors.

This composition breaks with traditional perspective and the realistic use of color: Matisse uses bright, dissonant tones , devoid of chiaroscuro, to convey emotion rather than a faithful representation of reality. The scene becomes almost abstract, and the light of southern France is rendered through a chromatic symphony of blues, greens, pinks, and oranges.

The work was presented at the Salon d’Automne in 1905 and caused a great sensation: it was on that occasion that critics defined Matisse and his colleagues as “ fauves ” (wild beasts), for their wild use of colour.