Lacan And Matisse: Overlapping Discourses?

What we see here on this canvas is not a scene from the world we see ordinarily. This painting - The Joy of Life - is not conceived in terms of verisimilitude. The aesthetics of realism is being replaced by the Oriental aesthetics of decoration. No waves crash on this yellow beach to disturb the dancers, musicians or lovers. This is a dream world of Arcadian patterns, paradisal design and pre-lapsarian colours.…