Woman with Amphora and Pomegranates

1953

Henri Matisse

Artist, French, 1869 - 1954

The abstracted silhouette of a woman holding a tall jug is cut out of paper painted lapis blue in this vertical composition. The woman is on the right half of this composition. Her head, arms, breasts, torso, and upper legs are pieced together with blocky forms. Both arms reach up to support a tall, narrow amphora jug overhead. Four blue pomegranates to the left near the woman’s legs and torso are arranged in an arc, like an opening parenthesis. Most of the woman is against a yellowed rectangle of paper, which is itself affixed to the cream-white canvas. A blue band rises most of the height of the canvas near the right edge.
This object’s media is not available for download. Contact us about image usage.
Not on view See artworks now on view
Order reproductions from the Gallery Shop

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gouache on paper, cut and pasted on white paper, mounted on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 243.6 x 96.3 cm (95 7/8 x 37 15/16 in.)

  • Accession

    1973.18.3

More About this Artwork

Article:  Artist Christopher Myers Considers What It Means to “Matter”

We talk with him about his process and inspiration, from the quilts of Gee’s Bend to cutouts by Henri Matisse.

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The artist's daughter, Mme Georges Duthuit [1894-1982, née Marguerite Émeline Matisse], Paris; sold 1973 through (Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York) to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1959

  • Henri Matisse 1950-1954: Les grandes gouaches découpées, Kunsthalle Bern, 1959, no. 12.

1960

  • Henri Matisse: Les grandes gouaches découpées, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1960, no. 12.

1961

  • Henri Matisse: Les grandes gouaches découpées, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Palais du Louvre, Paris, 1961, no. 28.

  • The Last Works of Henri Matisse: Large Cut Gouaches, The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Art Institute of Chicago; San Francisco Museum of Art, 1961-1962, no. 28, repro.

1970

  • Henri Matisse: Exposition du Centenaire, Grand Palais, Paris, 1970, no. 221, repro.

  • Matisse: en retrospektiv udstilling, Statens Museums for Kunst, Copenhagen, 1970, no. 111.

1977

  • Henri Matisse: Paper Cut-Outs, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; The Detroit Institute of Arts; The St. Louis Art Museum, 1977-1978, no. 201, repro. (shown only in Washington).

1978

  • Aspects of Twentieth-Century Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978-1979, no. 93, repro.

1981

  • Contemporary Art Since 1939, Museen der Stadt Köln, 1981.

2007

  • Henri Matisse. Vence: l'espace d'un atelier - Nature morte aux grenades, Musée Matisse, Nice, 2007, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

2014

  • Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs, Tate, London; The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2014-2015, no. 123, repro.

Bibliography

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 230, repro.

1978

  • King, Marian. Adventures in Art: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1978: 111, pl. 72.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 594, no. 919, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 265, repro.

Wikidata ID

Q20194710

You may be interested in

Loading Results