Henri Matisse
Still Life, Compote, Apples, and Oranges
1898
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, Unframed: 18 1/4 × 21 7/8 × 1 1/4 in. (46.4 × 55.6 × 3.2 cm.)
Framed: 24 9/16 × 28 1/16 × 3 3/8 in. (62.4 × 71.3 × 8.6 cm.)
Credit Line
The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland
Object Number
1950.224
Henri Matisse created this work while living in Toulouse, France, with his wife, Amelie, and her family before and after the birth of their son Jean in 1899. At the time, the artist painted a series of still lifes, which became increasingly bold in their use of vivid, impressionistic colors. In this painting, he takes a traditional still-life composition and modernizes it through the use of contrasting colors and intricately patterned brushstrokes.
At this early stage in his career, Matisse was still experimenting with different techniques as he searched for his own unique style as a painter. This canvas can be linked to some of the compositions he admired by fellow artists Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) and Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940).
The Baltimore Museum of Art by bequest, 1949; Etta Cone, Baltimore, by bequest, 1929; Claribel Cone or Etta Cone, Baltimore, by purchase, 1923; Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris; Jules Chavasse collection sale, Hôtel Drouot, 1922; "Peau de l'Ours" collection sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 1914.
Hôtel Drouot, Paris, "Collection de la 'Peau de l'Ours'", February 28, 1914-March 1, 1914, no. 40. (Exhibited as "Compotier de Pommes et Oranges")
Hôtel Drouot, Paris, "La Collection Jules Chavasse", June 21, 1922, no. 19. (Exhibited as "Compotier, Pommes et Oranges")
Adelyn D. Breeskin, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Cone Collection of Modern Paintings and Sculpture", April 1, 1930-December 1, 1930, no. 25/42. (possibly exhibited as "Still Life")
Gertrude Rosenthal, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Selections from the Cone Collection", October 7, 1949-December 31, 1949, no. 28. (Exhibited as "Compote and Glass Pitcher")
Gertrude Rosenthal, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "From Ingres to Gauguin: French Nineteenth Century Paintings Owned in Maryland", November 13, 1951-December 30, 1951,no. 171. (Exhibited as "Compote and Glass Pitcher")
Jane Harrison Cone, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Cone Collection from The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to Wildenstein and Company, New York, March 29, 1974-May 4, 1974, no. 14. (Exhibited as "Compote and Glass Pitcher")
Brenda Richardson, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse in the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, August 24, 1979-October 14, 1979.
Brenda Richardson, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Van Gogh to Matisse: Impressionist and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, November 21, 1993-January 30, 1994.
Brain Trust Inc., Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo, "Matisse and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", October 3, 1996-December 28, 1996, no. 4; circulated to the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, January 8, 1997-February 11, 1997.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse from The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Denver Art Museum, March 11, 2000-June 25, 2000; Birmingham Museum of Art, July 23, 2000-September 17, 2000; The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, October 10, 2000 - January 28, 2001
Centre Georges Pompidou, "Matisse: Paires et séries", March 7-June 18, 2012; circulated to Statens Museum for Kunst, July, 14-October 28, 2012; Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 3, 2012-March 17, 2013.
National Gallery of Art, "The Double: Identity and Difference in Art Since 1900", National Gallery of Art: Landover July 1, 2022 10-October 31, 2022, National Gallery of Art: Washington DC July 10, 2022-October 31, 2022.
Hôtel Drouot, Paris, "La Collection Jules Chavasse", June 21, 1922, no. 19. (Exhibited as "Compotier, Pommes et Oranges")
Adelyn D. Breeskin, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Cone Collection of Modern Paintings and Sculpture", April 1, 1930-December 1, 1930, no. 25/42. (possibly exhibited as "Still Life")
Gertrude Rosenthal, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Selections from the Cone Collection", October 7, 1949-December 31, 1949, no. 28. (Exhibited as "Compote and Glass Pitcher")
Gertrude Rosenthal, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "From Ingres to Gauguin: French Nineteenth Century Paintings Owned in Maryland", November 13, 1951-December 30, 1951,no. 171. (Exhibited as "Compote and Glass Pitcher")
Jane Harrison Cone, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Cone Collection from The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to Wildenstein and Company, New York, March 29, 1974-May 4, 1974, no. 14. (Exhibited as "Compote and Glass Pitcher")
Brenda Richardson, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse in the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, August 24, 1979-October 14, 1979.
Brenda Richardson, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Van Gogh to Matisse: Impressionist and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, November 21, 1993-January 30, 1994.
Brain Trust Inc., Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo, "Matisse and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", October 3, 1996-December 28, 1996, no. 4; circulated to the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, January 8, 1997-February 11, 1997.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse from The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Denver Art Museum, March 11, 2000-June 25, 2000; Birmingham Museum of Art, July 23, 2000-September 17, 2000; The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, October 10, 2000 - January 28, 2001
Centre Georges Pompidou, "Matisse: Paires et séries", March 7-June 18, 2012; circulated to Statens Museum for Kunst, July, 14-October 28, 2012; Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 3, 2012-March 17, 2013.
National Gallery of Art, "The Double: Identity and Difference in Art Since 1900", National Gallery of Art: Landover July 1, 2022 10-October 31, 2022, National Gallery of Art: Washington DC July 10, 2022-October 31, 2022.
"Collection de la 'Peau de l'Ours:' Oeuvres de Bernard, Bonnard, Cross, Denis, Derain, Van Dongen, Dufrenoy, Filiger, Flandrin, Forain, R. de la Fresnaye, Friesz, Gauguin, Girieud, Van Gogh, Grass-Mick, Guys, Henri-Matisse, Herbin, Hervier, Lacoste, Laprade, Marie Laurencin, Maillol, Manguin, Marquet, Mme. Marval, Metzinger, Picasso, Puy, Ranson, Od. Redon, Rouault, Roussel, Dunoyer de Segonzac, Seruzier, Signac, Utrillo, Vallotton, Verhoeven, de Vlaminck, Vuillard, etc.," Hôtel Drouot, Paris, March 2, 1914, lot number 40, p. 28, ill. (Published as "Compotier de Pommes et Oranges").
"Tableaux, Aquarelles et Pastels par Bonnard, Bottini, Maurice Denis, d'Espagnat, Van Dongen, Flandrin, Forain, Friesz, Innocenti, Le Sidaner, Lebourg, Metzinger, Henri-Matisse, Marquet, Monticelli, Gustave Moreau, Odilon Redon, K.-X Roussel, Renoir, Signac, Vuillard, Willette, Whistler, Marbre et Bonzes de Rodin, Oeuvre Importante de Renoir, Formant La Collection Jules Chavasse," Hôtel Drouot, Paris, June 22, 1922, lot # 19, ill. (Published as "Compotier, Pommes et Oranges").
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Cone Collection of Modern Paintings and Sculpture," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1930, p.5/6, no. 25/42 (possibly published as "Still Life").
Etta Cone, "The Cone Collection of Baltimore-Maryland," Baltimore: Etta Cone, 1934, p. 24, pl. 29, ill. (Published as "Compotier et Cruche de Verre").
George Boas, Adelyn D. Breeskin, and J.G. D'Arcy Paul, "Selections from the Cone Collection," "News of The Baltimore Museum of Art," October 1949, vol. 13, no. 1, p. 14 (Published as "Compote and Glass Pitcher").
Alfred H. Barr, Jr., "Matisse: His Art and His Public," New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1951, pp. 48, 67, 557, 575, 579, ill. p. 67 (Published as "Fruit Dish and Glass Pitcher").
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "From Ingres to Gauguin: French Nineteenth Century Paintings Owned in Maryland," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1951, p. 13, 46, no. 171. (Published as "Compote and Glass Pitcher")
Clive Bell, "Modern French Painting: The Cone Collection," Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1951, pp. 3-4, 11. (Published as "Compote and Glass Pitcher")
Gaston Diehl, "Henri Matisse," Paris: Éditions Pierre Tisné, 1954, p. 17. (Published as "Le Compotier et la Cruche de Verre")
"Matisse: A Rare Collection Record," "Vogue," March 1, 1955, volume 125, pp. 132, 134, ill. p. 134. (Published as "Compote and Glass Pitcher")
George Boas, Adelyn Breeskin, and Gertrude Rosenthal, "Cone Collection: A Handbook with a Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1955, p. 31, no. 39. (Published as "Compote and Glass Pitcher")
Barbara Pollack, "The Collectors: Dr. Claribel and Miss Etta Cone," Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., 1962, p. 146. (Published as "Still Life")
George Boas, Adelyn Breeskin, and Gertrude Rosenthal, "Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings in the Cone Collection," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1967, pp. 31, 66, no. 36, ill. (Published as "Compote and Glass Pitcher")
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Cone Collection from The Baltimore Museum of Art: A Benefit Exhibition at Wildenstein," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1974, no. 14. (Published as "Compote and Glass Pitcher")
Brenda Richardson, "Dr. Claribel & Miss Etta: The Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1985, pp. 173, 197.
Jack Flam, "Matisse The Man and His Art 1869-1918," Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1986, pp. 64, 67, 497, 522 fig. 47, ill. (Published as "Still Life with Oranges I")
Dominique Fourcade, Isabelle Monod-Fontaine, Claude Laugier, Éric de Chassey and Yve-Alain Bois, "Henri Matisse 1904-1917," Paris: Éditions du Centre Georges Pompidou, 1993, p. 112, ill.
Jane E. Neidhardt, ed., "A Gallery of Modern Art at Washington University in St. Louis," St. Louis: The Washington University Gallery of Art, 1994, p. 74, ill. (Published as "Still Life with Oranges I")
Nobuyuki Senzoku and Akira Tomita, "Matisse and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," Tokyo: Brain Trust Inc., 1996, pp. 49, 158, no. 4, ill.
Jack Flam, "Matisse in the Cone Collection: The Poetics of Vision," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2001, pp. 20, 27-28, pl. 5, ill.
Cécile Debray, Coordinator, "Matisse: Paires et séries," Paris: Centre Pompidou, 2012, color ill. pp. 21, 268.
Aagesen, Dorthe, and Rebecca Rabinow, eds. Matisse: In Search of True Painting. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, [2012], page 17, no. 2 (published as “Still Life with Compote, Apples, and Oranges”).
Cécile Debray, "Le Fauvisme," Paris: Éditions Citadelles & Mazenod, 2014, color ill. p. 74, no. 64 (published as "Nature morte, compotier, pommes et oranges").
Meyer, James. The Double: Identity and Difference in Art since 1900. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 2022.
Inscribed: Recto: Lower right in black paint, "Henri Matisse" Verso: The painting has been wax lined and there are no inscriptions visible on the verso. Frame Inscriptions Verso: Right rail, in graphite, "72___98" Top rail in graphite, "28" These inscriptions are typically covered by the frame build up.
