ARTnotes

Morrice and Lyman in the Company of Matisse

This is  excellent show is  at the McMichael Gallery until. The curator has assembled over 100 paintings by these three artists.James Wilson Morrice became friends with Matisse after leaving Canada for Paris. John Lyman studied with Matisse and subsequently spearheaded the Modernism in Montreal, where he was born. 

Included in the exhibition is Matisse's, "Nude on a Yellow Sofa",1928.  The yellow of the  sofa is the sun itself streaming in from the right. The woman's gaze is directed toward the light which illuminates and models her face with brilliant intensity.  

 A flowered screen behind her is patterned with leaves drawn in with thick lines. these contrast with the delicate contours outlining the model's limbs and torso. It's worth  to driving  to Kleinberg for this painting alone. ( Its usual home is the National Gallery of Canada.) 

The influence of Matisse can be appreciated in the work of his student John Lyman, who, like J.W. Morrice, left Canada to work in Paris and North Africa.

"Indolent youth"by John Lyman. Oil on Canvas.( c.1928)

 I thought Lyman's approach to the  male nude  unusual  and daring for the time. The graphic outline and expressive colours are typical of Lyman's work.

J.W.Morrice, Rainy Evening, Paris. c.1900. Oil on canvas

Unfortunately the restaurant at McMichael has been replaced by a not very efficient cafe. This woman dining there alone is reminiscent of Degas.

          J.W. Morrice is a master of  colour tonalitites. Matisse said of him that "in composition he saw the art of arranging in a complex manner the diverse elements at a painter's command to express his feelings."