1905, Henri Matisse, Femme au chapeau (Woman with a Hat) -- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
From the museum label: Woman with a Hat ignited dramatic controversy when it was first shown in Paris at the 1905 Salon d'Automne. Matisse's portrayal of his wife Amélie references, in its three-quarter pose and attire, the conventions of late nineteenth-century society portraits. The artist upends that tradition, however, through his use of bright colors and seemingly hasty, sketchy brushwork, which some critics decried as an insult. When asked what color dress Amélie was wearing when the portrait was made, the artist is said to have replied,
"Black, of course."
1905, Henri Matisse, Femme au chapeau (Woman with a Hat) -- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
From the museum label: Woman with a Hat ignited dramatic controversy when it was first shown in Paris at the 1905 Salon d'Automne. Matisse's portrayal of his wife Amélie references, in its three-quarter pose and attire, the conventions of late nineteenth-century society portraits. The artist upends that tradition, however, through his use of bright colors and seemingly hasty, sketchy brushwork, which some critics decried as an insult. When asked what color dress Amélie was wearing when the portrait was made, the artist is said to have replied,
"Black, of course."