Now having completed our discussion of Matisse’s revision of Cézanne’s portrayal of women in Three Bathers we can go back to Matisse’s definitive work in celebration of women, Joy of Life. While by the time he painted Joy of Life Matisse had not fully completed his revision of Cézanne’s Three Bathers, it fully represents Matisse’s view of women and the message that motivated him as he revised Cézanne’s view of women as shown in the piece. By revising Cézanne’s view of women, Matisse was ideologically able to salvage his “master” or “god of painting,” thereby enabling himself to continue looking to Cézanne’s skill for inspiration. As such, Joy of Life, dreamlike and playful, illustrates a celebration. When people gather to celebrate, there is music, dancing and talking, just like in Joy of Life. The women are relaxed, peaceful, and nonthreatening. The scene shows various groups of nymphs and individuals doing many different things, implying that in this world there is room for anyone to join in the celebration. This is exactly what Matisse has done by revising Cézanne’s image of women as both victims and villains. In Matisse’s revision, women are no longer predators and prey but nurturing caregivers. As Matisse strengthens his message, the influence of Three Bathers diminishes and eventually disappears, indicating that the dark image of women has disappeared as well. This was not only symbolized in Matisse’s paintings but actualized in his own life. In 1936 he gave Three Bathers to the Musée Petit Palais in Paris. In the same letter in which he claimed that the painting was Cézanne’s most important and monumental, he explains its importance to him: “[Three Bathers] has sustained me spiritually in moments of my career as an artist. I have drawn form it my faith and my perseverance” (qtd Steinkraus 38). Yet by 1936 Matisse had learned all that he felt he could from Three Bathers and decided to let go of the painting he had grasped even in the direst financial crises (Wilson 15). If it were not for Three Bathers and Cézanne’s neurotic fear of and inhibition towards women, many of Matisse’s masterpieces, such as Joy of Life would never have been created. Matisse gave Cézanne's women the beauty and life they deserved.
Matisse, Henri. Joy of Life. 1906. Barnes Foundation, Merion Pa.