Woman with a hat
Henri Matisse · 1905
Why it's great
A woman in a feathered hat and dress is painted with wild green, orange and purple stripes across her face. When Matisse showed it in 1905, critics were shocked and called the group 'les fauves' — 'the wild beasts.' He wanted color to express feelings, not match reality. It changed how modern artists thought about color.
Where to see it
📍 San Francisco Museum of Modern ArtSan Francisco, United States
Open in Maps ↗Hang it on your wall
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Henri Matisse was born in northern France and began painting after an illness at age 20. He lived in Paris and then in Nice in the south, where he painted in bold, free colors. He was the leader of Fauvism, whose name means 'wild beasts', and later made colorful paper cut-outs. He died in Nice in 1954.
