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The Windshield, On the Road to Villacoublay
The Windshield, On the Road to Villacoublay
1917
Henri Matisse
(French, 1869-1954)
Oil on canvas
Framed: 58 x 75 x 7 cm (22 13/16 x 29 1/2 x 2 3/4 in.); Unframed: 38.2 x 55.2 cm (15 1/16 x 21 3/4 in.)
Bequest of Lucia McCurdy McBride in memory of John Harris McBride II 1972.225
© Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Location
223 20th Century Avant-Garde
Description
Matisse painted this canvas in the summer of 1917 while being chauffeured by his son Pierre toward an airport on the outskirts of Paris. Suddenly, Matisse decided to paint the road from inside the car, which proved challenging, as zooming traffic forced the artist to keep the windows shut and constantly rocked the old Renault back and forth. Matisse nonetheless produced a novel view of life in the modern automobile.