Apples

Description

When the 45-year-old Henri Matisse was rejected from military service at the outbreak of World War I, a friend encouraged him to contribute to the war effort the best way he could: by continuing to paint well. This led to a productive period of compositional and material experimentation that Matisse hoped would sustain the tradition of French painting in the face of a cultural and national threat.

Matisse painted this still-life composition twice—in the abstract work seen here and also in a more traditionally representational version. A hidden light source bathes the scene in warm tones, which are offset by a swath of green. Luminous black consumes the background, reflecting Matisse’s challenge to himself to use black as a “color of light, not darkness.”

Provenance

The artist; sold to Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, Nov. 13, 1916 [Dauberville 1995]; sold to Henry Bernstein, Jan. 15, 1917 [Paris 1993]; sold to Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, from Dec. 13, 1917 [Paris 1993]. Marius de Zayas, New York, by May 1919 [Marius de Zayas to John Quinn, invoice dated Dec. 26, 1919, John Quinn Papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York Public Library; photocopy in curatorial file]; sold to John Quinn (Apr. 24, 1870–July 28, 1924), New York, after Dec. 26, 1919 [invoice mentioned above]; by descent to John Quinn Estate, New York, July 28, 1924 [American Art Association, New York sale catalogue, Feb. 9–12, 1927, lot 126]; sold to F. Valentine Dudensing, New York, through American Art Association sale, lot 126, Feb. 9, 1927; sold to Pierre Matisse (June 13, 1900–Aug. 10, 1989), New York, by June 16, 1931 [this and the following according to letter from Pierre Matisse, Oct. 21, 1974; photocopy in curatorial file]; sold to Samuel A. Marx (1885–1964) and Florene May Schoenborn (c. 1903–Aug. 25, 1995), Chicago, Dec. 1940; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, Dec. 29, 1948.

Apples

Henri Matisse

1916

Accession Number

64001

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

116.5 × 89.5 cm (45 7/8 × 35 3/16 in.)

Classification

oil on canvas

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Florene May Schoenborn and Samuel A. Marx

Background & Context

Background Story

Henri Matisse's Apples (1916) is an oil on canvas still life from the period of World War I, when Matisse's work became more austere and disciplined. The apples are arranged on a surface, their simple forms rendered with a combination of precise observation and formal simplification. The palette is restrained, with the reds and greens of the apples set against a darker background. The brushwork is controlled and deliberate. This still life demonstrates Matisse's mastery of fundamentals: the composition is balanced, the colors harmonized, the forms solid and convincing.

Cultural Impact

Matisse's wartime still lifes represent a crucial phase in his development, showing his ability to respond to historical crisis with a deepening of his art.

Why It Matters

This still life of apples captures the quiet power of Matisse's wartime style, the simple subject transformed into a composition of formal perfection.

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