This painting by Henri Matisse captures a moment of joyous celebration. It depicts a group of dancers in a circle, their arms linked as they move in unison. The bright colors and bold brushstrokes create a sense of movement and energy, while the figures' expressions of joy and delight
Dance (La Danse) is a painting made by Henri Matisse in 1910, at the request of Russian businessman and art collector Sergei Shchukin, who bequeathed the large decorative panel to the Hermitage Museum, in Saint Petersburg, where it hangs beside Music. The composition of dancing figures is commonly recognized as "a key point of (Matisse's) career and in the development of modern painting". A preliminary version of the work, sketched by Matisse in 1909 as a study for the work, resides at MoMA in New York, where it has been labeled Dance (I).