Red Fish
Red Fish © Henri Matisse (1911)
Best Interpretation: “Perhaps Matisse was colour-blind. Those fish are actually goldfish which are a vibrant orange in colour. They swim slowly in their glass cylinder, awaiting the return of the old lady who often sits in the white chair for hours every morning. She drinks her tea, tends the potted plants, and talks to the fish. The fish wish they were outside. They dream of an ornamental pond with gently rippling clear blue water. A Japanese bridge spans the pond and a lovely young woman looks down at the fish. The fish grow under her admiring gaze.” -Elizabeth
Issue Apr 2007
Post-Impressionism
4 Responses to “Red Fish”
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I see fish in a bowl on a garden table. Vegetation growing around it. A place where you can sit, drink your afternoon tea, and gossip about the neighbors. It is a comfortable setting. The colors represent relaxation and happiness.
La visión del romanticismo y la sexualidad de una adolescente.
Translation: A vision of Romanticism, and the sexuality of an adolescent.
Perhaps Matisse was colour-blind. Those fish are actually goldfish which are a vibrant orange in colour. They swim slowly in their glass cylinder, awaiting the return of the old lady who often sits in the white chair for hours every morning. She drinks her tea, tends the potted plants, and talks to the fish. The fish wish they were outside. They dream of an ornamental pond with gently rippling clear blue water. A Japanese bridge spans the pond and a lovely young woman looks down at the fish. The fish grow under her admiring gaze.
The way I see it is, although it is a happy setting I also see a lack of freedom for the fish. Like they are just here to be admired in a lovely setting than rather really thought of. As Elizabeth said, they are company to the old lady (or whoever put them in that cup). Fun to look at but no other purpose.