Artwork
Still Life with Vegetables
Still Life with Vegetables is an oil painting by the Fauvist artist Henri Matisse. It dates from 1905 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
It was included in the Twentieth‑Century Modern Masters exhibition featuring the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection.
Still Life with Vegetables is an oil painting on canvas created by Henri Matisse in 1905. The work employs oil paint applied to a woven canvas support, typical of early‑20th‑century easel painting. As a still life, it depicts arranged vegetables, emphasizing color and form rather than detailed texture.
The painting is classified within the genre of still life and belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection. It was included in the Twentieth‑Century Modern Masters exhibition featuring the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection.
History & Provenance
Still Life with Vegetables was created by Henri Matisse in 1905, executed in oil paint on canvas. The work measuring 38.4 by 46 centimeters entered the collection of Jacques Gelman, a noted collector of twentieth-century modern art. It was subsequently held within the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection, a body of works assembled by the couple.
The painting was featured in the exhibition Twentieth-Century Modern Masters: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection, through which it gained public visibility. The work is now part of the holdings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on view.
Still Life with Vegetables, painted by Henri Matisse in 1905, is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The painting belongs to the museum's collection and is included in the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection, a grouping of modern masterpieces that the museum has displayed. Its presence in the Gelman Collection has led to its inclusion in the exhibition titled "Twentieth‑Century Modern Masters: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection", which showcased the works held by the collection.
The work remains part of the museum's permanent holdings and is accessible to the public through the museum's galleries.
Legacy
The 1905 oil painting Still Life with Vegetables entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art and has been featured in exhibitions drawn from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman collection, highlighting its role within Matisse’s mature still‑life practice. Its inclusion in prominent museum displays and scholarly catalogues of the Gelman collection has reinforced the work’s reputation as an exemplar of early modern French still life, contributing to the broader appreciation of Matisse’s contribution to the genre. The painting’s provenance, from its creation in 1905 to its continued display, underscores its lasting significance in art‑historical narratives of the period.
Overview
Henri Matisse created Still Life with Vegetables in 1905 using oil paint. This work exemplifies the artist's early engagement with the still life genre, depicting common household items. While Matisse is renowned for his vibrant palette, this particular piece from his Fauvist period demonstrates a more subdued approach to color, focusing on form and texture. It is presently part of the collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Subject & Meaning
Matisse's Still Life with Vegetables presents an arrangement of everyday items on a dark surface, including what appear to be vegetables on a plate, alongside a bowl and a pitcher. Rather than pursuing photographic accuracy, the artist's focus lies in the expressive potential of the subject. The deliberate blurring of details invites viewers to engage with the painting's formal qualities and emotional resonance, transcending a literal representation of the domestic scene.
Context
Created during the formative years of Fauvism, Still Life with Vegetables reflects Henri Matisse's pivotal role in shaping early 20th-century art. As a leading French painter, Matisse was instrumental in developing a visual language centered on bold color and fluid draftsmanship. Although this work exhibits a muted palette compared to some of his more iconic Fauvist pieces, it nonetheless embodies the movement's departure from traditional realism towards a more subjective and expressive artistic vision.
Artist & collection
Artist
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (French:; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship.
