Object number2022.16.1

Vase de fleurs et le Plat d'huitres (Vase with Flowers and a Plate of Oysters)

Date1940

Artist Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954)

CultureFrench

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsUnframed: 20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 61 cm)
Framed: 25 3/8 x 29 5/8 x 2 5/8 in. (64.5 x 75.2 x 6.7 cm)

Credit LineBequest of Mary Pick Hines, class of 1953

Period20th c

Classification(s)

Painting

SignedSigned upper left corner: Henri Matisse

InscribedBy artist, upper left corner: 12/40

BibliographyElderfield, John. Stanley Whitney Henri Matisse. Craig Starr Gallery, New York, 2025, illustrated fig. 11; Mundy, James. Refining the Imagination: Tradition, Collecting, and the Vassar Education. Poughkeepsie, NY: The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, p. 190-191; Aragon, Henri Matisse: annovel, Volume II, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., New York, 1972, p. 319, no. XLIX, with identification on p. 362 Les Editions Du Chene, Paris, Matisse, Peintures 1939-1946, introduction de André Lejard, 1946, color illustration number III Elderfield, John, "Stanley Whitney and Henri Matisse," Craig Starr Gallery, New York, New York, October 23, 2025 - March 14, 2026, color illustration no. 11ProvenanceCollection of Paul Petrides, Paris (1969); Pierre Matisse (year unknown); Acquavella Galleries, Inc., New York (year unknown; c. 1969-1975); Frances W. Pick (class of 1927) c. 1975; Mary Pick Hines (class of 1953), by descent; Bequest to the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, 2022.
Exhibition HistoryChefs d'Oeuvre de Matisse, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, France, May - September, 1958, no. 33

A la rencontre de Matisse, Fondation Marguerite et Aimé Maeght, Saint-Paul de Vence, France, July 16 - September 30, 1969, color illustration no. 20

Refining the Imagination: Tradition, Collecting, and the Vassar Education, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NY, April 23 - September 19, 1999

Stanley Whitney and Henri Matisse, Craig Starr Gallery, New York, New York, October 23, 2025 - March 14, 2026

Label TextBy the time of this work’s creation, Henri Matisse had long been celebrated for his bold experimentations with color, which helped give rise to modern Western art. He created this work while living in Nice in December 1940, in the wake of the German invasion of France and at a time of many personal challenges. Despite great uncertainty, he continued to paint, focusing on some of his best-known themes, such as still-lifes of objects gathered in his studio. In this vivid depiction of flowers, lemons, and oysters, Matisse draws attention to the tangible world and evokes the immediacy of the senses, including taste and touch. Highlighting the sinuous curves and outlines of the objects on the table, he placed them against a highly saturated red background that might seem to propel them assertively toward the viewer. Matisse experimented with variations on the still-life with oysters theme in several paintings around the same period.

Terms

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu