Matisse and the Sea

February 17–May 12, 2024

Entrance in Taylor Hall

I have always adored the sea.
-Henri Matisse, 1952

Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was fascinated by the sea throughout his career. He was drawn to its color and changing light, and saw it as a metaphor for travel and new experiences. Matisse produced a wide range of work around France influenced by the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts. He also went abroad to France’s colonies, including French Polynesia located in the Pacific Ocean, where he found new inspiration for his marine subjects.

Matisse’s images of the sea range from early panoramic vistas to his late paper cut-outs in which he represented life beneath the waves. A devoted swimmer, repeatedly focused on the theme of the bather, as in the celebrated Bathers with a Turtle. In sculpture, Matisse portrayed the female form in a variety of poses. His Blue Nudes paper cut-outs feature female bathers placed within the context of organic marine motifs. Over time, Matisse moved toward greater abstraction and patter in his work.

Matisse’s travels encouraged him to acquire art from different cultures. Today it is important to consider the power dynamic of Matisse’s and other artists who traveled as French citizens to French colonies. Matisse found inspiration in the art made by African and Oceanic artists. However, he also shared uniformed attitudes typical among Europeans at the time regarding the original context and function of that artwork. By exploring his marine imagery, this exhibition presents the global scope of Matisse’s sources, and his ability to convey the beauty of the sea in multiple artistic forms.

Auguste Lumière, French, 1862–1954,
and Louis Lumière, French, 1864–1948

Film Lumière, no. 87: Rochers de la Vierge (Biarritz), 1896

duration: 50 seconds, looped

In this film, swelling waves crash against rocks at Biarritz on the southwestern Atlantic coast of France. This is one of the earliest films produced by the pioneering Lumière brothers, who are often credited as the inventors of the medium. Matisse was always interested in film and probably knew such motion pictures. Similar effects of movement are evoked in his painting, particularly his early seascapes.

From Brittany to the Mediterranean Coast: The Early Years

Matisse’s early images of the sea date from the mid-1890s and illustrate his fascination with the islands and ports around France. Matisse was born in the weaving town of Le Cateau-Cambresis in the nation’s industrial northeast. This inland location probably encouraged the artist’s attraction to the dramatic coastline of his native country.

From 1895 to 1897, Matisse regularly visited Brittany on the west coast of France, staying on the island of Belle-Ile. Here, his palette moved from muted tones to bright, unmixed colors. In 1898 he traveled to the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, painting on the French island of Corsica for nearly six months. He was intoxicated by the light of the Mediterranean, and retained a love for the luminosity of southern France until his death.

Perhaps the most important coastal location for Matisse in his early decades was the small fishing port of Collioure in southwestern France, some 15 miles north of the Spanish border. Matisse first painted there in the summer of 1905 and returned repeatedly until 1914. It was at Collioure that Matisse initiated his most radical experiments with color, abandoning naturalism and instead using color for its expressive potential. Matisse’s innovations led one critic to label him and his followers as ”fauves” or ”wild beasts.”

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Le Palais, Belle-Île, 1896
oil on canvas

Matisse captured the vivid hues of sardine fishing boats in the harbor of Le Palais on Belle-Île, an island off the southern coast of Brittany. In the distance is a fortification, known as Vauban’s Citadel, which continues to dominate the harbor today. This was one of Matisse’s first paintings to adopt what he described as a palette of “rainbow colors.” Note the line of red along the side of the boat in the foreground. Matisse spent three summers in Brittany during the mid-1890s.

Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Bequest of Mr. and Mrs. Hugo N. Dixon 1975.15 2024.49

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Small Olive Tree (Corsican Landscape), 1898
oil on canvas

This marine view represents the French island of Corsica, which Matisse visited for six months in the spring and summer of 1898. It marks the artist’s first visit to the Mediterranean, where he was deeply impressed by its intense light. The red roofs of a factory, whose chimney is painted over, complement the silvery greens of a silhouetted olive tree. Sunshine shimmers on the distant bay. Matisse marveled at the sea’s color, once noting that it was “blue, blue, blue, so blue that you want to eat it.”

Private Collection, United States 2024.23

Louis Valtat,
French, 1869–1952

Garden at Anthéor in Spring, 1902
oil on canvas

The painter Louis Valtat, a colleague of Matisse, was fascinated by the light of the south of France. This canvas shows a view out to sea at Anthéor, a village 20 miles east of St. Tropez on the Mediterranean Coast. Valtat worked in the Neo-Impressionist style that Matisse also employed at this time, evoking intense and shimmering light through built-up dots of paint. The garden in the foreground is the artist’s own, and the woman at bottom right is probably his wife, Suzanne.

Private Collection, United States 2024.27

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869-1954

Collioure (La Moulade), 1906
oil on panel

During his repeated stays at Collioure in the south of France, Matisse often took walks along the coastline. He was particularly drawn to a rocky outcrop just to the north of the port, known as La Moulade. Here, he represented the cliff face in shades of salmon pink and mauve, and the sea in ultramarine, light blue, green, turquoise, and purple. Short, dabbed brushstrokes were used to suggest the movement of the waves and the play of light. Matisse probably made this work outdoors, perhaps on the top of his paint box.

Private Collection, United States 2024.24

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Collioure Landscape, 1905
reed pen and India ink on Canson watermarked wove paper

This pen and ink drawing by Matisse shows a group of fishing boats pulled up onto the shores of the Port d’Avall in Collioure, France. According to the artist, he made some 100 drawings of the village and its surroundings during the summer of 1905. In contrast to his paintings and watercolors, which highlighted his explorations of color and light, these line drawings often illustrate the lively activity of the bustling port—one of the busiest on the Mediterranean coast.

Musée Matisse Nice, Bequest of Madame Henri Matisse, 1960, Musée Matisse Nice, Inv. no.: 63.2.49 2024.44

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

The Red Beach, about 1905
oil on canvas

The waves of a turquoise and azure sea lap against the shore of a red-toned beach in this painting by Matisse. Like the watercolor of the same subject on view nearby, the artist depicted fishing boats docked at the Port d’Avall in Collioure, France. A fishing net is laid on the beach to the right. Matisse experimented with different colors for the beach and found the non-naturalistic red most effective in his composition, perhaps because it complements the greens of the sea.

Private Collection, PO 142 2024.53

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Sailboats at Collioure, 1905
watercolor

Fishing boats line the beach in this luminous watercolor by Matisse. While working in the small village of Collioure in the south of France in 1905, Matisse focused on “making my colors sing, without paying any heed to the rules and regulations.” This radical approach is visible in the rich salmon pinks and reds of the beach. The work probably preceded a similar painting, The Red Beach, on view nearby, in which Matisse further intensified his tones.

Private Collection, United States 2024.25

André Derain,
French, 1880–1954

Boats at Collioure, 1905
watercolor

In this seascape by André Derain, billowing sails appear in translucent shades of pink, yellow, and orange. These pastel tones contrast with sinuous lines and staccato dashes of color applied throughout the composition. Derain traveled to the fishing village of Collioure in the south of France at Matisse’s suggestion in the summer of 1905. The two artists worked alongside each other, often painting the beach and fishing boats at the Port d’Avall, as seen here. Their work from this period is defined by its intense, non-naturalistic color, inspired by southern light.

Private Collection, United States 2024.26

Paul Signac, French, 1863–1935
printed by Auguste Clot, French, 1858–1936
published by Ambroise Vollard, French, 1867–1939

The Port of St. Tropez, 1897–98
lithograph

Paul Signac depicted the old port of St. Tropez, located in the south of France, with warmly lit buildings and sailboats reflected in the shimmering water of the harbor. To emphasize the vibrant light and color of the region, Signac used dots of pure pigment, allowing the viewer’s eye to optically mix the tones. Signac’s work was influential to a young Matisse; in fact, it was Signac who encouraged him to visit the Mediterranean coast and paint the sea in the early 1900s.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Purchase 76:1973

Collioure: A Constellation of Influences

Matisse stayed at the fishing village of Collioure from spring 1906 until fall 1907, his longest period spent there. This time was one of significant experimentation; he worked in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, and printmaking. Matisse produced increasingly radical artwork at Collioure, in which he began to explore the possibilities of abstraction. He also examined aspects of human sexuality, gender, and race often controversial at that time.

Various artistic influences informed Matisse’s open-minded and eclectic approach. His representation of the human body responded to a wide range of avant-garde artwork, including that of fellow French artists Paul Gauguin and Paul Cezanne. Matisse was also inspired by his older friend, the artist Aristide Maillol, who lived nearby. Additionally, the impact of sub-Saharan African sculpture was particularly important. Matisse admired these artworks for their stylized abstraction and ”invented planes and proportions,” in contrast to the tradition of European photographic naturalism in which he had trained.

A 1907 photograph of Matisse’s Collioure studio shows the artist with his wife, Amelie, and daughter, Marguerite. In the background is a significant painting, Le Luxe I, and the clay model of the sculpture, Two Women. The bronze version of this sculpture is on view in this gallery.

Paul Cezanne,
French, 1839–1906

Bathers, 1890–92
oil on canvas

A group of male bathers relaxes alongside a riverbank. All are naked, with the exception of a single figure who wears trunks. The scene was inspired by Paul Cezanne’s memories of bathing as a young man in Provence in the south of France. His range of poses and gestures for his nudes was influential on Matisse, who described the elder artist as “a sort of god.” The standing and seated forms at left resemble the figures in Matisse’s nearby Music (Sketch).

Saint Louis Art Museum, Funds given by Mrs. Mark C. Steinberg 2:1956

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Music (Sketch), spring–summer 1907
oil and charcoal on canvas

Set within an indeterminate and abstracted landscape, a group of people enjoys the music of a violin. Farthest from the viewer are two figures locked in a passionate embrace as they dance. In the foreground, a crouching nude sits pensively, absorbed by the instrument’s sounds. Matisse explored lesbianism as well as gender fluidity in this work—the violinist seems to be masculine-presenting but is portrayed without male genitalia. Through its ambiguous figures, limited color palette, and simplified background, Music (Sketch) notably anticipates Matisse’s later compositions of bathers.

The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of A. Conger Goodyear in honor of Alfred H. Barr, Jr., 1962 2024.11

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Collioure in August, about 1911
oil on canvas

Collioure in August was painted some six years after Matisse first visited this village. It shows a panoramic view from the west in the heat of summer. Red roofs complement the green trees, and the ultramarine blue of the bay offsets the dominant sandy-yellow tones. In the center is the village’s 17th-century church with its distinctive bell tower, which once functioned as a lighthouse (see image). Matisse abstracted this landscape by flattening the space into discrete blocks of color.

Summit Trust Geneva for the Sidarta Collection 2024.35

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Two Women, about 1908
bronze

In Matisse’s only sculpture to include more than one figure, two women share a close embrace. Their bodies are purposely exaggerated, with stocky legs, elongated arms, and swelling bellies, breasts, and buttocks.
The taller of the two figures displays an extended cylindrical neck similar to those seen in sub-Saharan African sculptures, such as the Bamana Jomooniw Male and Female Figures on view in this case. Despite its present title, Matisse referred to the sculpture as Two Negresses, thereby affirming a connection with an African physique.

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harold T. Clark 1957.144 2024.10

Bamana artist, Mali

Jomooniw Male and Female Figures, late 19th–early 20th century
wood, metal

This pair looks similar from the front, but when viewed from the side, their differences become more obvious. The male figure, with knees slightly bent and wearing a hat, appears more static than the female, who is taller and more dynamic, as her body twists and leans backward. Together, they played an important role in Jo society initiation rituals, and could be washed or decorated by participants during ceremonies.

Private Collection, France 2024.04.1,.2

André Derain,
French, 1880–1954

Bathers, 1909
oil on paperboard

In this painting, André Derain depicted a group of female bathers, either reclining or standing. Much like his friend Matisse, Derain was influenced by the bathers of Paul Cezanne during the early years of the 1900s. The pyramidal composition seen here, as well as the variously posed figures, reflect the impact of Cezanne, who had a significant retrospective in Paris in 1907. Unlike his earlier works, Derain shifted away from the Fauvist movement’s use of vivid colors in favor of a darker, more muted palette for this canvas.

Private Collection, United States 2024.28

Senufo artist, Côte d’Ivoire

Divination Figure (tugu), late 19th–early 20th century
wood

A Senufo sculptor from northern Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa, carved this female figure. It consists of alternating rounded and geometrically angular forms, creating a visually striking profile. Originally paired with a male partner, it would have been displayed during divination rituals to attract nature spirits. The accomplished execution of this sculpture suggests it once belonged to a particularly distinguished diviner, who offered healing and guidance to the community. It may have become part of Matisse’s personal art collection as early as 1909.

Private Collection, France 2024.03

Punu artist, Gabon

Mask (mukudj) for the Okuyi Society, late 19th–early 20th century
wood, kaolin, pigment

Worn by a male performer who danced on stilts, this mask was meant to embody an idealized female ancestor in southern Gabon in West Central Africa. Instead of covering the face, it sat on top of the head and projected forward. White kaolin clay was applied to the face, while the hairstyle is historically documented from the late 19th century. When first brought to Europe, the abstracted features were sometimes incorrectly suggested as having Asian origins. Such objects probably influenced Matisse, who would have seen a similar mask in Pablo Picasso’s studio.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alvin S. Novack 542:1956

Fang artist, Gabon

Reliquary Head (angokh nlo byeri), late 19th–early 20th century
wood, brass

This sculptural head would have been placed at the top of a container which housed relics such as skulls and long bones. The wood surface has been covered repeatedly by palm oil libations. Matisse owned comparable sculptures, and their geometric features—such as the circular, studded eyes and triangular nose seen here—probably influenced the French artist’s abstracting approach to facial forms.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of The May Department Stores Company 58:1966

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Seated Nude [Small Light Woodcut], 1906
woodcut

The curvaceous lines of a reclining woman contrast with the pattern of short strokes behind her. The work is one of four woodcuts produced by Matisse in 1906, all of which illustrate nude figures. The sharp angles and lines in this example suggest the influence of the abstracted, planar forms of sub-Saharan African sculpture. Indeed, Matisse purchased his first African sculpture the same year he created this woodcut.

Saint Louis Art Museum, The Sidney S. and Sadie Cohen Print Purchase Fund 26:1967

Aristide Maillol,
French, 1861–1944

Crouching Woman with Crab, about 1900–04,
cast by 1924
bronze

Squatting on a patch of ground, a nude woman examines a scurrying crab. During the early 1900s, Aristide Maillol was friends with Matisse, who admired the elder artist’s experimental and innovative approach to the representation of the female body. This sculpture by Maillol, likely seen by Matisse in Collioure, may have influenced the crouching figure in his painting Bathers with a Turtle, on view in the next gallery.

Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Scofield Thayer, 1982, 1984.433.35 2024.48

Aristide Maillol,
French, 1861–1944

Sleeping Nude, early 20th century
red chalk

A sleeping woman lounges on her side in this drawing by Aristide Maillol. Throughout his career, Maillol consistently focused on the female body, often treating women as symbolic forms relating to nature and the sea. Though the reclining woman seen here is not placed in any recognizable location, her figure resembles the bathers seen in idyllic landscape settings in paintings of the early 1900s, including works by Matisse. Matisse owned similar red chalk sketches by Maillol and used them as models for his students.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Purchase 205:1946

Aristide Maillol,
French, 1861–1944

The Wave, 1895–98
woodcut

A dark-haired woman reclines against a rock as a wave swirls alongside her. A leading sculptor, painter, and printmaker, Aristide Maillol frequently depicted the female nude in his works. His model here is his own wife, Clotilde. The rippling patterns forming the ocean swell reference those seen in Japanese woodblock prints (see image), which were extremely popular in France at the time Maillol made his print. While at Collioure, Matisse frequently visited Maillol’s studio in the nearby seaside village of Banyuls.

Saint Louis Art Museum, The Sidney S. and Sadie Cohen Print Purchase Fund 4:2012

Katsushika Hokusai, Japanese, 1760–1849; published by Nishimuraya Yohachi, Japanese, active late 18th–early 19th century; Aoigaoka Waterfall in the Eastern Capital, from the series A Journey to the Waterfalls of Various Provinces, c.1832–1833; color woodblock print; 14 13/16 x 9 15/16 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Shop Fund 69:1986

Paul Gauguin, French, 1848–1903

printed by Louis Roy, French, 1862–1907
published by Paul Gauguin, French, 1848–1903

Delicious Earth,
from the series Noa Noa, 1894
woodcut

printed by Pola Gauguin, Danish (born France), 1883–1961
published by Christian Cato, Danish

The Spirit of the Dead Watches,
from the series Noa Noa, 1894, printed 1921
woodcut

These two prints by Paul Gauguin depict a Tahitian girl who possibly represents Teha’amana. In one, Gauguin envisions her as a Polynesian Eve amid a tropical landscape in a reimagining of the biblical Garden of Eden. In the other, she curls into a fetal position in bed while a dark spirit, representing the presence of death, looks on. Matisse may have borrowed from Gauguin’s imagery, as the poses seen here resemble the violinist and crouching figure in Music (Sketch), on view nearby.

Teha’amana (see image) met Gauguin when she was 13 years old in 1891, and lived with him until he returned to France in 1893. She was pregnant during their time together, although no records of a child exist.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Bequest of Horace M. Swope 282:1940, 284:1940

Paul Gauguin, French, 1848–1903
printed by Louis Roy, French, 1862–1907

The Creation of the Universe,
from the series Noa Noa, 1894
woodcut

Paul Gauguin interpreted the Polynesian creation myth, depicting the masklike face of the creator god Ta’aroa at the right. Stylized waves crash in the turbulent sea, while at the bottom, a human strides toward reclining figures in the newly created earthly realm. Within this dreamlike image, a bright red fish with a ginkgo-leaf tongue hovers in the foreground.

This print is from Noa Noa, a semi-fictionalized account of Gauguin’s travels in Tahiti. Matisse was invited to make a new edition of woodcuts for the series in 1906, but the project never came to fruition.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Bequest of Horace M. Swope 281:1940

Bathers with a Turtle: A Fusion of European and African Traditions

Henri Matisse’s Bathers with a Turtle offers an extraordinary opportunity to understand the artist’s thinking and working process. Matisse painted it in Paris between the fall of 1907 and February 1908. At this pivotal moment, he was experimenting with an array of fresh influences and in competition with the young Spanish painter Pablo Picasso.

In Bathers with a Turtle, Matisse aspired to dramatically reinvent the established European ”bather” painting-which dated back over 400 years-by drawing on a newly eclectic and global diversity of sources. In particular, he fused avantgarde French art with rich and inventive African artistic traditions brought to France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a result of colonial expansion.

Matisse’s varied sources, including a painting by Paul Cezanne and sub-Saharan African sculpture once belonging to the artist himself, are on view in this gallery. Also united here are Bathers with a Turtle and its compositional study, Three Bathers, for the first time in decades. This unique installation offers fascinating insights into Matisse’s approach, as he transformed his color palette, added a small turtle, and created a radically abstract background by removing references to a particular location. As a result, Matisse created a highly ambiguous space that seems timeless and universal.

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Small Crouching Nude without an Arm, 1908
bronze

The Baltimore Museum of Art: The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland; BMA 1950.432 2024.18

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Small Crouching Torso, 1908
bronze

Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Gift of Madame Jean Matisse to the French State on deposit at Musée Matisse Nice, 1978, Inv. no.: D.78.1.54 2024.40

During the early 1900s, Matisse worked on a series of small, fragmented sculptures, such as the two examples seen here. Each represents a female nude, often with clear signs of modeling, and is small enough to fit in one’s hand. In the most radical example, Matisse removed the head and arms to focus on the figure’s hunched torso, which he described as an “egg-like form beautiful in its volume.” The tensed back echoes that of the squatting woman in the foreground of Bathers with a Turtle.

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Seated Figure, Right Hand on Ground, 1908
bronze

Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Gift of Madame Jean Matisse to the French State on deposit at Musée Matisse Nice, 1978, Inv. no.: D.78.1.12 2024.41

This small sculpture depicts a seated woman slightly twisting to her right. Her left arm extends toward her raised right knee, while her stiff right arm supports her body. The pose is similar to the crouching female in Bathers with a Turtle, highlighting the interconnectedness between Matisse’s two- and three-dimensional works. The figure also underscores the artist’s fascination with the shaping of arms. Here, they are rolled and twisted with a rough, tactile surface reminiscent of the uneven texture of his paintings.

Paul Cezanne,
French, 1839–1906

Three Bathers, 1879–82
oil on canvas

Paul Cezanne often depicted bathers throughout his career, including this important painting of three female bathers near a river in a forest clearing. The figures are built up with thick, repetitive brushstrokes and carefully arranged to create a sense of order in the picture. Tall trees on the left and right frame the scene, establishing a pyramidal compositional structure. Matisse purchased this painting in 1899, and it played a significant role in his creative process, probably influencing his own work, Bathers with a Turtle.

Petit Palais, musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris 2024.36

Pende artist, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Giwoyo Mask, late 19th–early 20th century
wood, pigment, raffia

This Giwoyo mask, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has V-shaped brows, downturned eyes, and most notably, a long extension that appears to descend from the chin. The mask was actually worn horizontally on the wearer’s head, with the projection sticking outward. It was intended to evoke the ancestral presence of the dead in ceremonial dances.

The angular, stylized qualities of African masks intrigued Matisse. This particular example, which was owned by the artist, may have informed his abstracted treatment of the standing figure’s face in Bathers with a Turtle.

Private Collection, France 2024.02

Baga artist, Guinea

D’mba Figures, late 19th century
wood

This pair of male and female figures share an identical pose, with bent legs, rounded bellies, and curving arms with hands resting under their chins. They were intended to uphold values of fertility, goodness, and generosity associated with D’mba ceremonies in Guinea in coastal West Africa. Matisse probably owned these two sculptures by 1908, when he was working on Bathers with a Turtle. The pair’s stance may have informed that of the upright enigmatic figure in Matisse’s painting.

Private Collection 2024.01.1,.2

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Bathers with a Turtle, 1907–8
oil on canvas

In 1941, Matisse simply described this painting as “three women by the sea, playing with a turtle.” The small turtle, or tortoise, at bottom left serves as the focal point of the picture. Each figure engages with the animal in different ways, whether offering a leaf, gnawing fingers in a pose suggestive of curiosity and anxiety, or sadly staring at its tiny form. Despite Matisse’s reference to play, the overall atmosphere seems one of melancholy or even alienation. The three bathers are outlined against three abstract bands of green, ultramarine, and teal, which reference shore, sea, and sky.

To learn more about the conservation of Bathers with a Turtle, please visit Gallery 245.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Pulitzer Jr. 24:1964

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Three Bathers, 1907
oil on canvas

Matisse painted Three Bathers in the summer of 1907 as a compositional study for Bathers with a Turtle. The figures are similarly posed, but Matisse included details—such as towels, a rock to the right, and fishing boats and hills in the background—that he painted out in his final composition. While maintaining a degree of abstraction, this study is more grounded in the specific location of Collioure in the south of France, where it was painted. Matisse also used a very different color palette in this work, particularly evident in the warm tones of red, orange, yellow, and green for the beach.

Lent by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Bequest of Putnam Dana McMillan 2024.13

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Three Bathers, 1906–07
ceramic

Matisse produced a small body of ceramic works between 1906 and 1908, including this plate featuring a trio of women. A marine landscape with overarching trees frames the nude bathers. The deep blue glaze, likely informed by the artist’s interest in Islamic ceramics, mimics the color used in his seascapes from the same period. The figures’ poses appear in Matisse’s contemporary bather paintings, such as Three Bathers and Bathers with a Turtle on view nearby. However, the reclining woman on her stomach offers a distinct difference.

Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Collection, 2002, 2002.456.117 2024.47

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Decorative Figure, 1908,
cast 1954
bronze

A female figure leans on a pedestal with her left leg crossed over her right. Her body forms a dynamic serpentine line that is visible when she is viewed from any angle. A clay model for this sculpture was in Matisse’s studio around the time he was painting Bathers with a Turtle in 1908 and may have influenced its development. The pose of the woman here, with her hand pressed between her legs, is similar to that of the seated bather in the picture.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard K. Weil 173:1959

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Bather, summer 1909
oil on canvas

A female bather with short, cropped hair is seen from behind, wading in rushing water. Matisse illustrated the striding figure in a pose likely inspired by Paul Cezanne’s Three Bathers, on view nearby. The heavy black outlines forming the bather were extensively revised by Matisse; he repeatedly changed the configuration of her right leg and reshaped her hunched back. The intense blue in this painting is reminiscent of the sea in the background of Bathers with a Turtle.

The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, 1936 2024.12

Nice and the Mediterranean Coast: the 1920s

The sea is blue, but bluer than anyone has ever painted it, a color entirely fantastic and incredible. It is the blue of sapphires, of the peacock’s wing, of an Alpine glacier, and the kingfisher melted together; and yet it is like none of these, for it shines with the unearthly radiance of Neptune’s kingdom.
–Henri Matisse on the Mediterranean Sea at Nice, 1950

Matisse first traveled to the seaside resort of Nice on the French Riviera in December 1917, and he often visited thereafter, eventually making it his permanent home. He loved the clarity of the light and the changing colors of the sea. He also enjoyed the possibilities for swimming and became an avid rower, winning an award from the Nautical Club of Nice (Club Nautique de Nice) for his diligent participation in club outings.

On his initial visits to Nice, Matisse stayed in hotel rooms on the seafront. During the 1920s, he rented an apartment. Many of his paintings show his interest in sea views seen through windows; the dialogue between inside and outside intrigued the artist.

Matisse’s Nice paintings of the 1920s were commercially successful. Yet for some critics, they were a conservative step backwards to an Impressionistic style after his earlier radical experiments with abstraction. Matisse defended his approach, claiming that he was trying to fuse an attention to nature with decorative effects.

In addition to his fascination with the Mediterranean, Matisse also occasionally painted the North Atlantic coast of France in these years. He focused on the resort town of Étretat in Normandy, which was well-known for its dramatic limestone cliffs.

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Market in Nice, 1921–22
pen and India ink on paper

Musée Matisse Nice, Gift of Monsieur Claude Duthuit, 2015, Inv. no.: 15.1.1 2024.45

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Seated Young Girl with a Bouquet of Flowers, 1923
lithograph

A dark-haired young woman in a dotted dress with a white collar sits at a table. She most likely represents Henriette Darricarrère, one of Matisse’s favorite and most frequently illustrated models from his time living in Nice during the 1920s. Henriette repeatedly appears in images of Matisse’s studio, often near the window that looked toward the sea.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Bequest of Horace M. Swope 649:1940

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Interior at Nice, about 1919
oil on canvas

Matisse painted this young model, Antoinette Arnoud, in a richly decorated room with ornamented wallpaper and tiled floors. The large window opens out to a balcony overlooking the Bay of Angels in Nice. The blues and greens of the sea view contrast with the reds and pinks of the room. Matisse once noted, “Windows have always interested me because they are a passageway between the exterior and interior.”

Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Purchase 74:1945

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Interior at Nice, 1919 or 20
oil on canvas

Matisse’s model, Antoinette Arnoud, is shown seated on a balcony overlooking the sea. The work is one of his largest paintings of the view from his hotel room in Nice. The artist emphasized contrasts in color and patterning between the grid design of the pink tiled floor, the pale gold arabesques in the wallpaper, and the softly swelling waves of the Mediterranean in the distance. Matisse described Nice as having “a beautiful and soft light in spite of its brightness…it is silvered, even the objects that it touches are colored.”

The Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Mrs. Gilbert W. Chapman, 1956.339 2024.15

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Festival of Flowers, 1923
oil on canvas

An explosion of color characterizes Matisse’s painting of the annual Festival of Flowers in Nice. Two women—the artist’s daughter Marguerite and his model Henriette Darricarrère—are seen on the balcony, surrounded by the cut flowers they will toss onto the parade below. Matisse used dynamic brushstrokes to depict the carriages and spectators lining the boulevard. In the distance is the golden Jetée-Promenade, a now demolished pier with a Middle-Eastern-style casino that was a landmark in the 1920s. The calm sea, in azure blue, stands in contrast to the busy street.

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1946.444 2024.09

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Seated Woman, Back Turned to the Open Window, about 1922
oil on canvas

Henriette Darricarrère sits in Matisse’s studio next to an open window facing the Mediterranean Sea. The ocean view occupies the majority of the picture space, suggesting its significance to the artist. Matisse was fascinated by the light and color of the water in Nice, comparing it to sapphires, peacock feathers, and glaciers. To capture this unique color, he painted the sea using a variety of tones, from pale teal green to deep ultramarine blue.

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Purchase, John W. Tempest Fund 2024.07

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Large Cliff with Fish, 1920
oil on canvas

In 1920, Matisse made repeated visits to Étretat on the Normandy coast. While there, he produced a group of paintings featuring sea life on the beach. In this version, he depicted a lobster, eels, rays, a large silvery fish, and clams or oysters, all arranged on a bed of seaweed. The colorful creatures and aqua water contrast with the gray tones of the shore, cliffs, and sky. Matisse’s picture anticipates his later interest in the marine worlds of French Polynesia.

The Baltimore Museum of Art: The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland; BMA 1950.233 2024.17

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Seated Nude Clasping Her Right Leg, 1918
bronze

Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Gift of Madame Jean Matisse to the French State on deposit at Musée Matisse Nice, 1978, Inv. no.: D.78.1.27 2024.42

A sitting woman draws her right leg up toward her chest as she looks over her left shoulder. The surface of the form is rough and textured—a lasting impression of the artist’s process. Matisse often repeated variations of a particular pose in his sculptural works, including this seated position. The figure here can be seen as a precursor to his important bronzes of the 1930s, such as Venus in a Shell I and Venus in a Shell II, both on view nearby.

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Crouching Venus, 1918–19
bronze

Matisse revisited the form of the crouching female nude in this sculpture from approximately 1918. The figure is shown resting on her right knee, with her torso twisting dynamically to the right as her left elbow sits on her elevated left thigh. The pose may be borrowed from ancient Roman sculptures of the goddess Venus, who is sometimes portrayed squatting while bathing (see image). Matisse would have seen such examples in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Gift of Madame Jean Matisse to the French State on deposit at Musée Matisse Nice, 1978, Inv. no.: D.78.1.26 2024.43

Statuette, c.100 BC–100 AD; Roman, Imperial period; after Greek, Hellenistic period; marble; 10 1/4 x 7 7/8 x 5 1/8 inches; Musée du Louvre, Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities

French Polynesia I

Lagoons, are you not one of the seven wonders of the Paradise of painters?
-Henri Matisse, about 1944

Matisse’s visit to French Polynesia in 1930 was a turning point in his career. Seeking fresh sources of inspiration for his work, he remained there for two-and-a-half months from March until June. The artist later described the islands as ”Paradise.” Initially, he stayed on the island of Tahiti, but also visited the Tuamotu Archipelago-home to the largest chain of atolls, or lagoons encircled by a coral reef, in the world. There he found the intense blue of the water intoxicating, as well as the colorful coral reefs that he discovered while swimming and diving.

Matisse produced little artwork during this trip-only occasional sketches and drawings, as well as some photographs. The trip did provide inspiration for much of his later output, including paintings, sculptures, paper cut-outs, and prints. Matisse developed a language of seaweed fronds as flat decorative patterns that appear repeatedly in his late work.

Matisse’s time in French Polynesia encouraged his fascination with Oceanic art, which he collected in the 1930s and ’40s upon his return to France, purchasing artwork at Parisian auctions. He was interested in the allover patterns found in Oceanic textiles and carvings. This visual preference may have informed the curvilinear decorative motifs of his own late imagery.

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Nude in the Waves, 1938
linocut

The Diver I, 1938
linocut

The Diver II, 1938
linocut

In this group of linocut prints, a female nude either lounges by or dives into water. Defined in luminous white, the subject starkly contrasts with its black background. These works marked a return to a theme that had preoccupied Matisse during the early 1900s, when he painted bathers along the Mediterranean coast of France. The artist took advantage of the soft linoleum printing block—it was easy to carve and allowed him to create organic, flowing lines akin to pen and ink drawings. The fluid contours seen here enhance the sensuous quality of the images.

Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département Estampes et photographie, DC-418 (B,5) #2022-3511 2024.37–.39

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Tahitian Landscape, April–May 1930
pen and India ink on wove paper

This view was drawn from Matisse’s hotel window in Papeete, the capital of Tahiti. A screen of trees is in the foreground, while a French navy schooner, also called Papeete, appears in the center of the composition. The vessel had been built in San Francisco before traveling to Tahiti, where it was converted into a trading ship between the Polynesian islands. Matisse often represented ships, which, to him, were invitations to travel and escape.

Musée Matisse Nice, Bequest of Madame Henri Matisse, 1960, Inv. no.: 63.2.93 2024.46

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Venus in a Shell I, 1930
bronze

The Baltimore Museum of Art: The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland; BMA 1950.439 2024.19

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Venus in a Shell II, 1932
bronze

Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas 2024.05

This pair of sculptures depicts the same subject—the birth of the ancient Roman goddess Venus—but Matisse treated each figure in very different ways. Venus in a Shell I is more abstract, with smooth, elongated forms and contours making up the body. Venus in a Shell II is rougher, showing how the figure was built up by adding material to the form. While the title suggests the goddess is sitting in a shell, it actually resembles a shallow, everyday bathtub.

Bougainville Island artist, Papua New Guinea

Dance Shield, late 19th century
wood, lime

This small dance shield has been delicately engraved and painted on both sides with repetitive geometric designs. Its small scale indicates that it would have been used in a ceremonial dance rather than having any protective function. The abstract patterns are of a kind that appealed to Matisse in his later years, as he explored the inventiveness of Oceanic artwork.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Morton D. May 134:1978

Abau artist, Papua New Guinea

Shield, early to mid-20th century
wood, pigment

This impressive work is a war shield that would have been used in combat rather than for ceremony. The holes at the top and sides once held bark straps so the shield could be hung on the shoulder, allowing the warrior to easily maneuver a bow and arrows. The shield came from the Green River in the Upper Sepik of Papua New Guinea, Melanesia. The motifs on shields like this one may have influenced Matisse’s abstract curvilinear designs, as seen in Jazz, on view nearby.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Bequest of Morton D. May 74:1994

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Forms from Jazz, plate IX, 1944
pochoir print

Swimmer in the Aquarium from Jazz, plate XII, 1944
pochoir print

Knife Thrower from Jazz, plate XV, 1943–47
pochoir print

The Lagoon from Jazz, plate XVII, 1944
pochoir print

The Lagoon from Jazz, plate XVIII, 1944
pochoir print

The Lagoon from Jazz, plate XIX, 1944
pochoir print

Abstract shapes and vibrant colors abound in this selection of illustrations from Jazz, Matisse’s most ambitious book project. The artist originally envisioned it as a series of images called “Coral” or “Lagoons.” While the project ultimately expanded to include motifs from the circus and popular culture, the sea continued to play an important role in its design.

The trio of prints titled The Lagoon highlight Matisse’s memories of his time spent snorkeling in the clear lagoons of French Polynesia. The fronds of seaweed depicted here would become some of the main decorative elements in his later paper cut-outs. This seaweed motif entered other themed prints like Knife Thrower, in which the sharp, pointed shape of the thrower contrasts with the soft curves of his assistant. Swimmer in the Aquarium offers a different but related scene, where a silhouetted swimmer is viewed by a spectator at bottom right in a popular Parisian attraction. Finally, Forms presents a near mirror image of a simplified female torso, whose rich blue color again suggests the sea.

Private Collection, United States 2024.29–.34

F. W. Murnau, German, 1888-1931
excerpts from Tahu: A Story of the South Seas,
1931

Internet Archive

During his stay in Tahiti, Matisse spent several days with the German movie director, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (1888-1931), who was shooting Tabu: A Story of the South Seas. This film, made in a remote bay, used local inhabitants as actors and highlighted the natural beauty of the island. However, it also perpetuated a racist stereotype of Polynesia as uncivilized and “primitive.” Matisse was certainly intrigued by the motion picture and saw it three times upon his return to France.

A LOOK INTO MATISSE’S
Bathers with a Turtle

duration: 11 minutes, 31 seconds,
looped

French Polynesia II

Among the most impressive of Matisse’s works resulting from his trip to French Polynesia are the two large-scale Oceania tapestries on view in this gallery. Matisse described these as ”reveries” composed some 15 years after his visit.

He recalled the exhilaration of his stay: ”From the first, the enchantments of the sky there, the sea, the fish, and the coral in the lagoons plunged me into the inaction of total ecstasy.” The designs for Oceania were initially produced as white paper cut-outs on the beige walls of his Paris apartment before Matisse transferred them to tapestries, which were produced as a limited edition.

Matisse’s interest in textiles was undoubtedly informed by the fact that he came from a family of weavers. Moreover, the concept for the Oceania tapestries the regular spacing of images and the light monochrome background-suggest the influence of Polynesian tapa. Matisse acquired these works, made from the inner bark of various native trees, when he returned to France in the 1930s and ’40s, probably purchasing them at Parisian auctions. Matisse’s collecting of African art also expanded from sculpture to include Kuba textiles from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in these years.

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Mermaids, studies for “I wish to drag my pain the length of France,” 1942, printed 1962
crayon transfer lithograph printed in red-brown ink

These three prints present mermaids reclining among the waves. They are studies for Matisse’s illustration of a love poem entitled “I wish to drag my pain the length of France,” written by the French poet Pierre de Ronsard
(1524–1585). Each image has slight variations in tail shape, scales, hair, and facial features. Yet all portray the figure as relaxed, even somewhat playful, which belies the pain indicated in the title of the poem. Matisse designed them in 1942, perhaps in response to the anxiety and suffering associated with the ongoing Second World War.

The Baltimore Museum of Art: Marguerite Matisse Duthuit Collection; BMA 2010.227–.228, .231 2024.20–.22

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Oceania, The Sea,
designed 1946, made 1948
screenprint on linen

Matisse depicted all manner of sea creatures—including abstract sharks, jellyfish, and rays, as well as coral formations and seaweed—in this large-scale tapestry. They suggest his memories of diving in French Polynesia. Matisse once described plunging into a crystal-clear ocean, where he could see “fish and great coral massifs as clearly as if there was no water.” For the artist, the lines above the jellyfish served as “signs” for the horizon line, while the beige background may reference sand.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Wilson 196:1962

Kuba artist, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Textile, early 20th century
palm fiber, pigment

Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Purchase 39:1942

Prestige Cloth, early to mid-20th century
palm fiber, pigment

Saint Louis Art Museum, Friends Fund 17:1992

Abstract shapes in repetitive patterns adorn these two Kuba textiles. The combination of flat embroidery and lush cut pile creates a variety of forms and textures on their surface. These cloths indicated social standing within Kuba society and could be worn assembled to wrap around the body, used as mats, or serve as currency. Matisse collected several Kuba cloths in his later years and admired them for the “mystery of their instinctive geometry.”

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Oceania, The Sky,
designed 1946, made 1948
screenprint on unbleached linen

Swooping birds populate this tapestry, but somewhat surprisingly, they share the space with fish, jellyfish, and coral. For example, note the small fish at top right. When recalling his time spent swimming in French Polynesia, Matisse noted how the sea and sky seemed to merge,
with fish flying out of the water and birds diving into the waves. Matisse also remembered the intense light of the Pacific, which gave him the feeling of looking into “a large golden chalice.” This luminosity is suggested here by his minimalist palette of whites and beiges.

Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, Beyeler Collection 2024.52

Fijian artist, Fiji Islands

Tapa Cloth (masi), about 1948
bark cloth, pigment

This black-and-white tapa, or bark cloth, features a decorative saw-tooth motif and fringe distinctive to Fijian island culture. Following his trip to Tahiti, Matisse built up a significant collection of tapa in the 1930s and 1940s, including examples similar to this work. The stenciled patterns of tapa fascinated him and may have informed his textiles, such as the two Oceania panels in this gallery. Both the tapa and Matisse’s tapestries have similar, evenly spaced forms and background colors.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Vion Papin Schram & Bernard K. Schram 38:1999

The Late Paper Cut-Outs

Matisse first began to make paper cut-outs in the early 1930s, initially as studies for paintings. In the 1940s, his health declined, limiting his output of painting and sculpture. As a result, he began to focus on cut-outs, which were easier for him to produce.

The artist crafted the cut-outs while sitting in bed or in his chair, defining the shape of the paper with a range of scissor sizes. His assistants prepared the paper by coloring it with gouache, or opaque watercolor, in advance. Matisse compared his practice to that of carving into wood to create sculpture. On another occasion, he likened it to ”drawing with scissors.” Due to the flatness of the medium, the resulting cut-outs served as a return to his early interest in abstraction, evident in Bathers with a Turtle.

Matisse’s paper cut-outs concentrate on marine themes. Two of his best-known examples, titled Blue Nudes, are on view in this gallery. Originally, Matisse considered these subjects to be bathers. He intended the cut-outs to be surrounded by organic seaweed-like motifs within an enormous mural, recalling an Oceanic paradise, that he created on his studio walls in 1952. The theme of the human body placed within a marine setting remained central to Matisse’s practice until his death.

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Composition Green Background, 1947
gouache, cut papers, and pencil on paper

Blue, black, and yellow seaweed and white snail forms stand out against the intense greens of this late cut-out by by Matisse. It suggests marine plant and animal life floating in the lagoons of French Polynesia, which the artist would have witnessed during his travels. Writing about his experiences diving in the atolls there, Matisse commented that “the water of the lagoon is the color of green-gray jade, colored again by its proximity to the bottom.”

The Menil Collection, Houston 2024.16

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Composition with Red Cross, 1947
gouache, pencil, paper, and colored paper collage mounted on paperboard

Matisse used brilliant red paper for this work, accented with deep blue rectangles and colorful seaweed forms. He became interested in seaweed and algae as decorative forms after his travels to French Polynesia in 1930 and gradually incorporated these elements into his paper cut-outs in later years. The fronds seem to flow and sway in contrast to the angular geometry of the background, giving this image a sense of movement.

Private Collection 2024.06

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Blue Nude, the Frog, 1952
gouache painted paper cut-outs on paper on canvas

Matisse depicted this nude figure in a pose the artist compared to that of a frog. Her seated form is represented in a highly abstract manner, with three circles for her head and breasts. The serpentine shapes extending from her torso suggest upraised arms or the outline of her falling, wavy hair. Two pomegranates—symbols of fertility—indicate an idyllic setting. The bright yellow background is unique among Matisse’s late blue nude cut-outs and may suggest sunlight.

Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, Beyeler Collection,
Inv.79.2 2024.51

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Blue Nude I, 1952
gouache painted paper cut-outs on paper on canvas

In this iconic cut-out, Matisse constructed a seated figure using paper pre-colored with a deep blue gouache, or opaque watercolor. The sinuous right arm forms a winding line that continues through the vertical of the left arm. Matisse considered this female nude to be a bather, and it represents the culmination of the theme of bathing women that preoccupied him intermittenly from the early 1900s. The artist’s assistant, Lydia Delectorskaya, remembered that he made this cut-out “with mastery” in only 10 or 15 minutes “at the maximum.”

Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, Beyeler Collection, Inv.60.1 2024.50

Henri Matisse,
French, 1869–1954

Venus, 1952
gouache on paper, cut and pasted on white paper, mounted on paper panel

Emerging between two pieces of cut blue paper is an abstract female torso. To create the form, Matisse used the negative space of the cream paper underneath. The nude figure is reduced to her basic parts: an elongated neck, angular shoulders, breasts on either side, and a tapering waist. Her asymmetrical positioning on the paper seems to suggest a dynamic twisting motion. The cut-out’s title, referencing the ancient Roman god of love, highlights Matisse’s continuing interest in mythology.

National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1973.18.2 2024.14

Frédéric Rossif, French, 1922–1990
and Henri Langlois, French, 1914–1977

Henri Matisse, 1951

Cinémathèque française

This film clip shows Matisse making a cut-out in his studio with the help of assistant Paule Caen-Martin. He uses large tailoring scissors to rapidly cut curvilinear, seaweed-like forms. He then arranges motifs on paper. Although the film was never completed or released, the footage offers crucial insight into Matisse’s cut-out practice.

Edward Steichen, American (born Luxembourg), 1879–1973; Henri Matisse working on Dance I, 1909; Image: The Granger Collection

Oil Paint Supplies

Matisse preferred pure colors directly from the paint tube, producing strong hues and bright tones. He often created various effects by layering colors instead of mixing them together. Oil paint can be used to create glossy or matte areas, flat or raised brushstrokes, broad sweeps of color, or dabs of paint.

Matisse worked with brushes of all sizes as well as tools like palette knives, needles, pencils, and even cloth rags to scrape through or rub away areas on the canvas. A double palette cup, like the one visible in the photograph above, held linseed oil on one side and turpentine on the other. Matisse used these to manipulate the texture and flow of the paints-linseed oil to smooth and extend or turpentine to thin.

Pigment Samples

Pigments one through nine were detected within the paint of Matisse’s Bathers with a Turtle, which has relatively few colors. He used different varieties of iron earths, including yellow ochre and burnt umber, along with lead white and madder lake pink to create the figures’ skin tones. The background was layered with pure viridian green and ultramarine blue.

1 carbon black
2 lead white
3 zinc white
4 ultramarine blue
5 viridian green
6 yellow ochre
7 burnt umber
8 madder lake pink
9 cadmium yellow lemon

In many of his other paintings, Matisse favored the bright red vermilion pigment. He also regularly used several synthetic colors, such as cobalt violet, cobalt blue, cadmium orange, and strontium yellow.

Paper Cut-out Supplies

As Matisse became more focused on paper cut-outs instead of painting, he continued to utilize the same pure, bright colors. Sheets of paper were uniformly coated with vivid gouache paints by studio assistants to give the artist a variety of colors with which to work.

He then used scissors or large shears, cutting in a continuous motion and rotating the paper to create sinuous shapes. Matisse’s materials and techniques evolved, but his fundamental pigment choices remained throughout his career.

The artist supplies displayed here are contemporary examples similar to those used by Matisse.

Henri Riviere, French, 1864–1951; Belle-Isle-en-Mer, 1910; watercolor, pencil on paper; 10 3/8 x 16 1/8 inches; Bibliotheque nationale de France, departement Estampes et photographie, DC-422 (5)-FOL

Ajaccio (South Corsica), c.1930; postcard; 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches; Alencon Urban Community Media Library, Bry Fund BRY 694

Photograph of Matisse, his family, and the Stein family, Cavalière (from left to right: Pierre Matisse, Henri Matisse, Allan Stein, Amélie Matisse, Michel Stein, Sarah Stein, Jean Matisse), 1909; Archives Henri Matisse, all rights reserved

published by Edition Baylone Freres, Nice; Promenade des Anglais et Jetee Promenade, 1912; Ville de Nice

Henri Matisse, French, 1869–1954; Matisse looking underwater through a glass-bottomed box in Fakarava, French Polynesia, drawing, letter to Amélie Matisse, May 29, 1930; Archives Henri Matisse, all rights reserved

published by Detroit Publishing Company; Hotel Excelsior, Regina Palace, Cimiez, Nice, France, between c.1890 and c.1900; photomechanical print (photochrom); Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division 2001697642

Matisse working at the Hotel Regina, Nice, c.1952; Photo by Walter Carone / Paris Match via Getty Images