In the winter 2022-2023, we presented a new exhibition featuring works by French master painter Henri Matisse. Organized in collaboration with The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the exhibition reunited an iconic masterpiece, The Red Studio, with all the works of art depicted in the painting.

A key work in art history came to Denmark

Henri Matisse (1869–1954) is one of the greatest masters of twentieth-century art. In 1911 he painted The Red Studio, which is now considered a key painting in Matisse’s oeuvre and a foundational work in the history of modern art.

The picture depicts the artist’s studio in the Parisian suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux filled with his own paintings, sculptures, furniture and decorative objects. In a radical move, the artist has saturated the painting’s surface with a monochrome red covering the walls, floors and furniture. Three of the paintings shown in the picture belong to SMK, and with this exhibition all the works depicted were eunited for the first time in over 100 years.

A highlight of the MoMA collection, The Red Studio is a greatly acclaimed painting that has fascinated generations of artists and museum visitors. The exhibition offered a unique opportunity to experience The Red Studio in Denmark and gain rare insight into Matisse’s choice of subject matter and artistic working methods.

Top photo: Henri Matisse. The Red Studio. 1911. Oil on canvas, 181 x 219.1 cm. Mrs. Simon Guggenheim Fund, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. © Succession H. Matisse/VISDA 2023

Matisse: The Red Studio is organized by The National Gallery of Denmark and The Museum of Modern Art, New York