Alternate Views

Interior with an Etruscan Vase (Intérieur au vase étrusque)

1940

Henri Matisse

(French, 1869-1954)

France, 20th century

Oil on canvas

Framed: 102.2 x 129.5 x 12.1 cm (40 1/4 x 51 x 4 3/4 in.); Unframed: 73.7 x 108 cm (29 x 42 1/2 in.)

Gift of the Hanna Fund 1952.153

Location

223 20th Century Avant-Garde

Description

"I have always tried," wrote Matisse, "to hide my own efforts and wished my works to have the lightness and joyousness of springtime." He achieved that aim in this canvas, painted in Nice during the early months of World War II. A tapestry design hangs behind the woman, while the window to the right is covered in black. The oak table, a light wood with a natural finish in real life, is painted black and green, thereby transforming it into a decorative shape that anchors the center of the composition.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Signed lower right: "Henri Matisse 40"

Provenance

Leigh Block, Chicago; (Pierre Matisse, New York)

Citations

The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 518 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 199 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 199 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 248 archive.org

Essers, Volkmar. Henri Matisse, 1869-1954: Master of Colour. Köln: Benedikt Taschen, 2016. Reproduced: p. 74-75

McBreen, Ellen. "The Studio as Theater." In Matisse in the Studio. Ellen McBreen, and Helen Burnham, 113-139. Boston, Massachusetts: MFA publications, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2017. Reproduced: p. 139, no. 124

Dorfman, John. "Matisse Madness." Art & Antiques, (Apr. 2017): 48-54. Reproduced: p. 48

Klein, John. Matisse and Decoration. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 94, fig 4.1

Exhibition history

Rome, Italy: Musei Capitolini, 9/19/97 - 2/1/98 "Henri Matisse: La révélation me'est venue de l'Orient."

National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Japan (9/10/2004 - 12/12/2004): "Henri Matisse: Process and Variation"

Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; February 20 - May 29, 2005. "Masterworks from The Phillips Collection". Not in exh. cat.

K20-Kunstsammlung Nordhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf, Germany (10/29/2005 - 2/19/2006) and Fondation Beyeler, Riehen, Switzerland (3/19/2006 - 7/23/2006): "Henri Matisse: Interiors with Women", ex. cat. no. 112, p. 157.

CMA (organizer). Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea: Dec. 18, 2006 - March 31, 2007; Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea: Apr. 7 - May 20, 2007; Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: June 9 - Sept. 16, 2007; Cleveland Museum of Art, Oct. 21, 2007- January 13, 2008; Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN, Feb. 21-June 1, 2008; Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT, June 22 - September 21, 2008; and the Detroit Institute of Arts, MI, October 12, 2008 - January 18, 2009: "Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art"

The Cleveland Museum of Art (10/11/2015 - 1/5/2016); "Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse"

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA (4/9/2017 – 7/9/2017): "Matisse in the Studio" cat. no. 124, p. 139.

In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.. The Cleveland Museum of Art (March 4-April 7, 1958).

Paths of Abstract Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art (October 4-November 13, 1960).

Fifty Years of Modern Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (June 15-July 31, 1966).

La révélation m'est venue de l'Orient. Palazzo dei Conservatori (Musei Capitolini, Rome) (September 19, 1997-January 20, 1998).

Henri Matisse: La révélation me'est venue de l'Orient. Musei Capitolini, Rome, Italy (September 19, 1997-January 20, 1998).

Henri Matisse: Process and Variation. National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo (organizer) (September 10-December 12, 2004).

Masterworks from The Phillips Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 20-May 29, 2005).

Henri Matisse: Interiors with Women. Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany (October 29, 2005-February 26, 2006); Fondation Beyeler (organizer) (March 19-July 23, 2006).

Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Seoul Art Center, South Korea (December 22, 2006-March 28, 2007); Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, South Korea (April 7-May 20, 2007); Vancouver Art Gallery (June 9-September 16, 2007); The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008); Frist Center for the Visual Arts (February 15-June 1, 2008); Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (June 22-September 21, 2008); The Detroit Institute of Arts (October 12, 2008-January 18, 2009).

Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 6, 2015-January 5, 2016).

Cite this page

{{cite web |title=Interior with an Etruscan Vase (Intérieur au vase étrusque) |url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1952.153 |author=Henri Matisse |year=1940 |access-date=26 May 2019 |publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Interior with an Etruscan Vase (Intérieur au vase étrusque)

Interior with an Etruscan Vase (Intérieur au vase étrusque)

Henri Matisse

France, 20th century

Location

Description

Inscription

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