Famed French artist Henri Matisse (1869 –1954) set off a dramatic dispute with the public debut of his painting, “Femme au chapeau” (“Woman with a Hat”), when it was first shown at the Paris Salon d’Automne in 1905. The outraged critics decried Matisse and the other artists in the show. In a review, critic Louis Vauxcelles called them fauves (wild beasts)in the October 17, 1905, issue of the periodical “Gil Blas.” And thus, Fauvism was born as the first French avant-garde art movement of the 20th century.
Looking at the portrait of the artist’s wife, Amélie, today, it is hard to imagine how it shocked Parisian audiences and then became a turning point in art history. “Femme au chapeau” enjoys a variety of bold, bright colors one wouldn’t see on a face in real life, with its relaxed, unrestrained, broad brushstrokes of green that form the broad contours of Amélie’s face. Unlike Impressionism, with its subdued tones. Fauvism’s bold colors and expressive brushwork prioritize painterly qualities over realistic representation, leading to further developments in modern art, including Cubism and Expressionism.
“Femme au chapeau” was first shown at SFMOMA in 1936, when it was owned by Sarah Stein, wife of Gertrude Stein’s brother, Michael. Elise S. Haas acquired the portrait in 1948 and bequeathed it to the museum upon her death. It has remained part of the museum’s permanent collection ever since and is rarely loaned to other venues.
The heart of SFMOMA’s exhibition restages the public debut of Matisse’s “Femme au chapeau” in Gallery VII of the 1905 Salon d’Automne in Paris. And what a great re-creation it is! The exhibit features work by all 10 artists included in the original exposition and reunites the largest number of objects from that gallery since 1905. The presentation of this groundbreaking display reveals how and why works by artists including Matisse, Charles Camoin, André Derain, Henri Manguin, Albert Marquet, and Maurice de Vlaminck, sparked heated debate as well as admiration during their lifetimes.
And the beautiful, stately gallery models the architecture, wall fabric coverings, and molding of the original salon. SFMOMA went to incredible lengths to reconstruct the 1905 gallery from photographs of the 1904 show and other resources.
The other six galleries include different aspects of the subject and history of “Femmes au chapeau” from 1905 to the present. In one, Amélie Matisse is shown as a professional hatmaker and a close collaborator of Matisse. Contemporary fashions of the time that may have influenced the headwear in the painting are also included.
One dramatic room recreates siblings Leo and Gertrude Stein’s Left Bank Paris apartment through large-scale projections and an immersive experience. Comfortable couches enable viewers to sit and imagine being in the Steins’ apartment, admiring their magnificent collection, which then included “Femme au chapeau.”
The final galleries follow artists’ responses to Matisse’s painting, from his peers, such as Jacqueline Marval, Jean Metzinger, Kees Van Dongen, and Maurice de Vlaminck, to those by artists working today, such as Hilary Harkness, Rachel Harrison, David Hockney, and others. It’s a treat to see Fauvism’s impact on great Bay Area Figurative artists like Joan Brown, Richard Diebenkorn, and David Park.
It’s hard to over-praise this exhibition. A great deal of scholarship has gone into the show. The fabulous array of creative, brightly colored pieces of modern art, especially the several Matisse paintings, evokes for us the “mad beasts” of the Fauvists.
When you visit SFMOMA, don’t miss the new exhibit of the Fisher Collection. https://culturevulture.net/art-architecture/sfmomas-fisher-collection-reimagined/
By Emily S. Mendel
©Emily S. Mendel 2026 All Rights Reserved
