Woman With Hat By Matisse

Woman with a Hat (La femme au chapeau) is a painting by Henri Matisse from 1905. It is believed that the woman in the painting was Matisse's wife, Amelie. It was exhibited with the work of other artists, now known as "Fauves" at the 1905 Salon d'Automne. Critic Louis Vauxcelles described the work with the phrase "Donatello au milieu des fauves!" (Donatello among the wild beasts), referring to a Renaissance-type sculpture that shared the room with them. His comment was printed on 17 October 1905 in Gil Blas, a daily newspaper, and passed into popular usage. The pictures gained considerable condemnation, such as "A pot of paint has been flung in the face of the public" from the critic Camille Mauclair, but also some favorable attention. The painting that was singled out for attacks was Matisse's Woman with a Hat, which was bought by Gertrude and Leo Stein: this had a very positive effect on Matisse, who was suffering demoralisation from the bad reception of his work.