The composition of Henri Matisse's 1911 painting Red Studio (oil on canvas, 71 1/4" x 86 1/4") is more complex than it appears to be at first glance. The overall red color of the floor and walls gives it the appearance of a very simple picture in which a few straight lines and a number of brightly colored paintings and other objects define the space of the room. No particular object is the main focus of the composition, but it directs attention toward the corner of the room to the left of center. The main effect of the composition, however, is that it establishes a strong tension between the elements that create the rough impression of perspective and the elements (sometimes the same ones) that contribute to flattening out the space and making it seem relatively shallow. The general effect of the picture, therefore, is of the calm of a room in which no people are present. But this is also a room where creative work is done and the works in progress indicate that activity is suspended and the studio is "waiting" for the return of the artist.
In the studio even the pieces of furniture are part of the same overall red as the walls and floor because they are mainly indicated by simple outlines that look as though they are incised in the walls and floor. Yet even though the bright color seems to flatten out the space the composition pulls the eye--focusing attention on the corner (to the left of the tall object that looks like it might be a grandfather clock). Although the same white lines that indicate the outlines of the furniture are used to mark the line where the walls and floor meet there is no clear line that marks the corner of the room where the two walls meet. This corner is indicated mainly by the large purple-toned painting of the nude that leans against the left-hand wall. This bottom edge of the frame on this painting roughly meets the floor line of the back wall.
The sense of perspective in the composition c...