That Green Line

Henri Matisse, Portrait of Madame Matisse (The Green Line) (1905)

   Henri Matisse seems to be influencing a wide range of people with his diverse set of art styles; he is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century after all. Leading the Fauvism movement, with his high degree of abstract paintings, he made the Green line famous. Portrayed in Portrait of Madame Matisse (The Green Line) (1905), shows a green line divide the face of the wife. Other artist soon caught on to the fashion, and started to use it in their own paintings.

   An artist in particular that I am reminded of is Kathy Sosa, currently being displayed in the MSC’s James Reynolds Student Art Gallery. The MSC Visual Arts Committee presents the San Antonio-based artist, exhibiting her mixed media portraiture, containing vibrant oil portraits collages with fabric, wallpaper or photographs. “The exhibited pieces take a modern approach to traditional Mesoamerican folk art.” You can see more of her work at her website, www.kathysosa.com. The exhibition will end on March 15^th. (A&M, 2013)

   Another part in pop culture that I see this style in is The Shadow Magazine. Launched in 1931, it soon established a monthly schedule and doubled to a twice monthly schedule in 1932, which met its end in the Summer of 1949. It published 325 issues, which had a lead novel featuring Kent Allard, "The Shadow," as well as a small number of short stories and other features. The Shadows’s covers often display the main character’s face, divided by a shadow contour. You can most likely see inspiration from comic books covers having a protagonist or antagonist character’s face divided by a contour, displaying one side darker than the other.

A&M. "Texas A&M University Calendar: Kathy Sosa Exhibition." Texas A&M University Calendar. Texas A&M University, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.

"The Shadow Magazine." The Shadow Magazine. Philsp, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.