Inspired by Matisse: Plum Red ColorTherapy

Inspired by Matisse: Plum Red
ColorTherapy

Name: Plum Raison 2082-20, Raisin torte 2083-10
Brand: Benjamin Moore

I discovered Matisse's The Red Studio at the Museum of Modern Art last summer, and found it to be completely captivating. It also got my wheels spinning — why not paint your own studio from toe top to crown in plum red?

I vowed long ago to never again paint a room plain white, save a closet. But as an artist myself, I've always thought it makes sense to keep studio areas fairly neutral. This painting shocked me back to my senses — a color like this on the walls would stimulate the senses and tickle your imagination daily. It makes me want to play.

The Victorians thought that the idea color for a sitting room or a portrait gallery was deep red. Matisse painted this in 1911, not long after the Victorian age, and offers us his own Fauvist version of a portrait gallery. I'd PhotoShop some suggested uses for the modern home, but I find this painting to be so vivifying that I'll let you, dear reader, come up with your own examples.

Possible color matches: Plum Raison 2082-20, Raisin torte 2083-10. Try staining your floor Jacobean or Bombay Mahogany.

- Mark Chamberlain, interior and decorative painter

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(ReEdited from 2007-11-06 - AA)