plate no. 3420

Notre Dame with Violet Walls

Henri Matisse, 1902

oilRealismcityscapecityscapebuildingsarchitectureskywallsstreet

recreation guide

Henri Matisse’s *Notre Dame with Violet Walls* (1902) represents a transitional phase in the artist’s career, situated between his early academic training and the emergence of Fauvism. While the artwork is classified here as Realism, Matisse’s practice during this period was heavily influenced by the Neo-Impressionist techniques he studied with Signac and Cross, characterized by controlled lines and flat shapes (Source 3). The painting likely exhibits the structural rigor of his academic background while beginning to explore the expressive potential of color that would define his later work. The specific mention of 'Violet Walls' suggests an early experimentation with non-naturalistic or heightened color tones, a precursor to the 'wild, often dissonant colours' he would famously employ in 1905 (Source 3).

estimated time

20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions

materials

5 items

steps

5 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Oil paints (Ultramarine, White, Black, Yellow Ochre, Vermilion)	Primary pigments for underpainting and glazing	Artist-grade oil paints
Linseed oil	Medium for thinning paint and creating glazes	Refined linseed oil
Mineral spirits or turpentine	Solvent for cleaning brushes and thinning initial layers	Odorless mineral spirits
Canvas or panel	Support surface	Primed linen or cotton canvas
Charcoal or thinned paint	Underdrawing	Vine charcoal or diluted oil paint

preparation

surface prep

Prepare a standard oil-primed canvas. Matisse’s early work was grounded in academic traditions, implying a smooth, white or neutral ground to allow for precise linear definition and subsequent glazing. Ensure the surface is dry and free of dust before beginning the underdrawing (Source 6).

underdrawing

Begin by sketching the subject onto the canvas using charcoal or thinned paint. Matisse’s early style is characterized by 'controlled lines' and 'flat shapes' (Source 3). The underdrawing should establish the architectural structure of Notre Dame with precision, avoiding the loose, gestural marks of his later Fauve period. Focus on accurate proportions and the geometric integrity of the building.

underpainting

Execute a monochrome underpainting (grisaille) using black, ultramarine, and white mixed with oil of copavia or linseed oil. This technique, described by Sir Joshua Reynolds and relevant to traditional oil painting practices, involves mentally extracting red and yellow colors to establish value and form first (Source 1). This layer should be allowed to dry completely before proceeding to color application.

color palette

Violet/Purple

Ultramarine and Vermilion (glazed over grisaille)

The walls of Notre Dame, as indicated by the title. This reflects the 'expressive colour' Matisse began to favor (Source 3).

Grey/Blue-Grey

Ultramarine, Black, and White

Underpainting and shadows, establishing the 'grey bloom' mentioned in glazing techniques (Source 1).

Yellow/Red tones

Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow, Vermilion

Glazing and scumbling to add warmth and light, applied transparently over the dry grisaille (Source 1).

composition

While specific compositional details of *Notre Dame with Violet Walls* are not explicitly described in the sources, Matisse’s general approach during this period involved 'flat shapes and controlled lines' (Source 3). Apply general compositional principles: ensure the subject is off-center to avoid exact bisection, and use the horizon line to emphasize either the sky or the ground, rather than dividing the space equally (Source 5). The architectural lines should guide the viewer’s eye around the elements of the cityscape (Source 4).

step by step

underdrawing→underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing

underdrawing

step 01
Sketch the architectural forms of Notre Dame using charcoal or thinned paint. Focus on linear precision and geometric structure.
Tip — Ensure proportions are accurate; Matisse’s early work relied on controlled lines (Source 3).
Linear underdrawing

underpainting

step 02
Apply a grisaille layer using black, ultramarine, and white. Establish the full range of values from dark shadows to bright highlights, excluding red and yellow tones.
Tip — Mentally extract red and yellow colors to focus on form and value (Source 1).
Grisaille

first pass

step 03
Allow the grisaille to dry completely. Begin glazing with transparent coats of color, starting with the violet tones for the walls.
Tip — Glazing is a transparent coat of color that allows the underlying painting to show through (Source 1).
Glazing

refining

step 04
Apply yellow and red tones using glazing and scumbling techniques. Scumbling involves semi-opaque painting that interacts with the darker ground to create coldness or grey blooms.
Tip — Use scumbling over darker grounds to achieve subtle tonal variations (Source 1).
Scumbling

finishing

step 05
Refine the color contrasts, ensuring that the violet walls interact with the surrounding tones. Check for simultaneous contrast effects, where adjacent colors influence each other’s appearance.
Tip — Be aware that the eye may perceive colors differently due to adjacent hues (Source 2).
Simultaneous Contrast

critical techniques

Glazing and Scumbling

Used to build up color transparently over a dry monochrome underpainting. This method allows for luminous color effects and subtle tonal shifts, consistent with traditional oil painting practices referenced in the sources (Source 1).

Simultaneous Contrast

Understanding how adjacent colors affect each other’s perception. This is crucial for achieving the 'expressive colour' Matisse is known for, ensuring that the violet walls appear vibrant against their surroundings (Source 2).

Fat over Lean

Each additional layer of paint should contain more oil than the layer below to prevent cracking. This is a fundamental rule of oil painting application (Source 6).

common pitfalls

→Applying wet paint over wet paint without adhering to the 'fat over lean' rule, which can lead to cracking and peeling (Source 6).
→Ignoring the drying time of the grisaille underpainting, which can cause muddiness when glazing is applied (Source 1).
→Overlooking the effects of simultaneous contrast, leading to inaccurate color perception and duller results (Source 2).
→Creating exact bisections in the composition, which can make the image appear static and unbalanced (Source 5).

what the sources don't tell us

Where the corpus is silent, we say so rather than guess. These are the gaps a complete recreation guide would normally cover that our source passages don't.

·Specific visual details of *Notre Dame with Violet Walls* (e.g., exact window placements, street elements) are not described in the sources, so the recreation relies on general architectural knowledge and Matisse’s stylistic tendencies.
·The exact pigment mixtures for the 'violet' walls are not specified; the guide suggests ultramarine and vermilion based on traditional color theory and Matisse’s palette.
·Matisse’s specific brushwork for this 1902 piece is not detailed; the guide infers 'controlled lines' from his Neo-Impressionist period (Source 3).

grounded in

The technical procedure in this guide traces to the following classical art-instruction texts.

The Practice of Oil Painting↗
- COLOURING A MONOCHROME — applied to Underpainting (grisaille) and glazing/scumbling techniques
Laws of Contrast of Colour↗
- 315-318 — applied to Color interaction and simultaneous contrast

cross-referenced from

Named facts about this artwork and artist were checked against these reference pages.

Wikipedia bio — Henri Matisse↗
- part 3 — applied to Stylistic context (Neo-Impressionism, controlled lines, expressive color)
Wikipedia: Composition (visual arts)↗
- part 1 and part 6 — applied to General compositional principles
Wikipedia: Oil painting↗
- part 2 — applied to Material handling and 'fat over lean' rule