Le Bonheur de Vivre (The Joy of Life) by Henri Matisse (Interpretation and Analysis)

Le Bonheur de Vivre
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Next to Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse is probably one of the most famous and influential artists of the twentieth century. His work is closely associated with the Fauvist movement and is generally characterized by great energy and rich, intense colors. Le Bonheur de Vivre (which translates to The Joy of Life) is perhaps the greatest Fauve painting of the age, and today it is considered to be one of the pilars of the burgeoning Modernist movement.

The piece depicts an idyllic landscape in shades of yellow, blue, and orange. Nude figures sprawl on a yellow field, shaded by colorful trees. In the background, a group of figures dance in a circle—a nod towards Matisse’s masterpiece The Dance—while other figures play pipes. Thematically, the scene attempts to conjure the prime joys of life, setting the painting in a fanciful, pre-industrial landscape that exists only in the imagination.

The painting is multilayered. While it is clearly a Modernist piece that challenges artistic conventions around scale, proportionality, and color, it also references other artistic movements throughout history. Le Bonheur de Vivre references the bacchanalia scenes that originated with ancient Greek and Roman cultures and persisted into modern, Western art. The piece also alludes to the tradition of French, pastoral art and other outdoor scenes, such as Édouard Manet’s famous painting Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe. Though the Le Bonheur de Vivre would, in some ways, have appeared foreign and fantastical to contemporary viewers (it was certainly controversial at the time), it is now recognizable as an extension of the Western tradition, rooted deeply in the history of European art.

Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.