Lemons on a Pewter Plate

Description

Beginning in 1917, Henri Matisse spent most winters in the southern French city of Nice. The warm light there transformed the artist’s work profoundly, leading him to comment: "If I had painted in the north . . . my painting would have been different. There would have been browns, grays, shadings of color through perspective." Painted during one of his sojourns to Nice, this picture’s challenging spatial construction, palpable paint texture, and patterned background recall the still lifes of Paul Cezanne. The artist was especially on Matisse’s mind when he began this composition in 1926: the same year, Matisse’s dealer staged a posthumous retrospective of over 50 of Cézanne’s major works.

Provenance

The artist, to at least Sep. 15, 1931 [Basel 1931]; Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, probably acquired directly from the artist, by Nov. 15, 1938 [New York 1938, exh. cat.]; Lee A. Ault (Sep. 30, 1915–Apr. 7, 1996) and Dorothy Smith Ault (née Nov. 19, 1916; married 1935, divorced by 1958), New Canaan, CT, and New York; later Lee A. Ault and Isabel Henry Ault (June 11, 1912–Nov. 7, 1989; married 1958, divorced 1977), New York, Apr. 27, 1942; sold to Nathan Cummings (Oct. 14, 1896–Feb. 19, 1985) and Joanne Toor Cummings (née Joanne Ruth Toor, Nov. 2, 1928–Sep. 19, 1995), New York, Chicago, and Palm Beach, FL, Apr. 2, 1965 [Nathan Cummings inventory card; photocopy in curatorial file]; given to Joanne Toor Cummings by June 30, 1976; by descent to Joanne Toor Cummings Estate, New York, Sep. 19, 1995; purchased from Christie’s, New York sale Apr. 30, 1996, lot 26, by Sara Lee Corporation, Chicago, Apr. 30, 1996; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, Oct. 11, 1999.

Lemons on a Pewter Plate

Henri Matisse

1926

Accession Number

153703

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

55.6 × 67.1 cm (21 5/8 × 26 1/8 in.)

Classification

oil on canvas

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

A Millennium Gift of Sara Lee Corporation

Background & Context

Background Story

Henri Matisse's Lemons on a Pewter Plate (1926) is an oil on canvas still life. The composition is simple: lemons arranged on a pewter plate. The yellow of the lemons provides a brilliant color accent against the cooler tones of the pewter. Matisse's handling is bold and confident, the paint applied in strokes that are both precise and free. The forms are simplified but solid, the colors clear and luminous. This still life demonstrates Matisse's ability to find infinite variety within the simplest subjects.

Cultural Impact

Matisse's late still lifes demonstrate the culmination of his lifelong exploration of color and form.

Why It Matters

This still life of lemons on a pewter plate captures the brilliance of Matisse's late style, the yellow fruit providing a radiant focal point.

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