Art for the Private Viewer
The Broad Usage of Sexual Figures in Art
Curated by Sree Balusu

Henri Matisse, Blue Nude, 1907

"Androgyny refers to a specific way of joining the 'masculine' and 'feminine' aspects of a single human being."--June Singer

This painting was met with complaints almost immediately. In 1913, during the an exhibition of the infamous "Armory Show" at the Art Institute of Chicago, it was burnt because it offended critics and viewers.  

Matisse painted Blue Nude after one of his sculptures depicting this figure shattered. When looking at the painting, one can see that though the subject is clearly a woman, it has certain male characteristics in its body form. Matisse did say, "What interests me most is neither still life nor landscape: it is the human figure."

According to some, Henri Matisse added the woman's muscular arms, thick neck, large feet, and short hair to create a painting of a subject that had his own form mixed into it.

One can also see a similarity between the subject's form in this painting and primitive art. For example, the large buttocks of the woman in this painting are quite like those of figures in cave paintings. Interestingly, the figures in said cave paintings were men, which further strengthens the notion that this figure is intentionally androgynous.

Using a uniquely constructed naked figure, Matisse managed to create an interesting fusion of Primitivism and Fauvism that became part of his collection of modern art.