Provenance
Leo Stein (1872–1947), Paris and Settignano, Italy [inscription on mat]. César de Hauke (1900-1965), Paris, by May 11, 1954-at least April 22, 1956 [Paris 1954]. Zwemmer Gallery, London. Given by Joel Starrels (1891-1986), Chicago, to the Art Institute, 1961.
Accession Number
87624
Medium
Reed pen and black ink on cream wove paper, laid down on cream wove paper, laid down on ivory wove card
Dimensions
Primary support: 44.4 × 31.7 cm (17 1/2 × 12 1/2 in.); Secondary support: 46.4 × 33.7 cm (18 5/16 × 13 5/16 in.); Tertiary support: 51.7 × 37.7 cm (20 3/8 × 14 7/8 in.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. Joel Starrels
Background & Context
Background Story
Henri Matisse's Grounded Fishing Boat (1905) is a reed pen and black ink drawing on cream wove paper dating from the pivotal year when Matisse and his colleagues launched the Fauvist movement at the Salon d'Automne. The fishing boat, grounded on the shore, was a subject that Matisse painted repeatedly during his summer in Collioure in 1905, working alongside Andre Derain. This pen and ink drawing shows Matisse's rapid, economical draftsmanship at its most confident: the boat is captured with a few flowing lines that convey its form, its position on the beach, and the sense of the coastal environment. The simplicity of the subject and the economy of the treatment are characteristic of Matisse's approach to drawing.
Cultural Impact
Matisse's Collioure drawings of 1905 capture the birth of Fauvism, showing the artist's rapid, economical draftsmanship at the moment of his break with naturalism.
Why It Matters
This rapid pen drawing of a grounded fishing boat captures the essence of Matisse's approach to drawing: the subject reduced to its essential lines, the economy of means creating a sense of immediacy and life.
