The Silence in Cinderella’s House

The Silence that Lives in Houses by Henri Matisse

The Silence in Cinderella’s House

by, Diana B. Thompson

I had the pleasure of attending the Matisse exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC some years ago.  The line wrapped around a city block to see the mass collection of a lifetime of work. Canvasses filled one room after another.  The painting, Dancers was enormous and filled a single room. Around the corner, a small print was nearly overshadowed by its counterparts.  The Silence that Lives in Houses (http://www.henri-matisse.net/paintings/ei.html).  It shows the shadowy outlines of an adult and child in a dark room.  In contrast, the window to the world outside reflects a bright and sunny day. There is a stale ‘silence’ in the room, a sense of stillness and entrapment.

While designing the illustrations for CinderSilly, we turned to this little known Matisse painting for inspiration.  As CinderSilly’s family is facing the reality of a life after the money runs out, they are trapped in a room filled with fear.  Cinderella stands in the light of the window as a beacon of hope.  But, her bright perspective is rejected again and again.  In the end, the silence that lives in Cinderella’s house, is alive and well.  But it is the Stepmother who keeps it company. She sits alone in the darkness of her own making.  While CinderSilly goes out to play, the stepmother’s life is a chore, a very hard chore.