Dome

In 1951-1952 Hartigan studied Matisse's "Bathers by a River" (1916-1917) at a Matisse retrospective at the MOMA, NYC. Also about this time she studies old masters drawings: Dürer's "The Knight, Death, and the Devil." Of Matisse she said, "Matisse is at his best, not when he is cozy, but when he puts you off." Hartigan has conceived an envirnoment for the bathers in terms of slashing brushstockes which fly toward all edges of the canvas.full view