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Open today 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

National Gallery of Art

  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
    • Shops
    • Tours, Guides, and Maps

    Open today 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    Only have an hour to spend?

    We've got you covered.

  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events

    Featured exhibition:

    The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art

    Now on view

  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Games and Interactives
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Artle

    A refreshed experience for our puzzle game

    Today's puzzle

Utility

  • Shop
  • Support

  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
    • Shops
    • Tours, Guides, and Maps

    Open today 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    Only have an hour to spend?

    We've got you covered.

  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events

    Featured exhibition:

    The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art

    Now on view

  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Games and Interactives
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Artle

    A refreshed experience for our puzzle game

    Today's puzzle

Utility

  • Shop
  • Support

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    Royal-blue, sunshine-yellow, kelly-green, deep pink, and orange petal-like shapes and other geometric forms are arranged in a grid-like pattern against a cream-white field in this abstract, horizontal artwork. Applied to five joined, vertical canvases, the design is anchored at the center by a vertical blue pillar encasing a vertical row of four flower-like forms. Flanking the central column to either side, flowers are arranged in four rows of five blooms. Each bloom is a single, flat color, created with four cut pieces of painted paper. The arrangement of the colors vary so the flowers do not create a rigid pattern, though it seems like a pattern at first glance. The flowers are separated by clove-like forms creating X-shapes at the corner of each bloom. A stylized face takes the place of one flower near the center of each panel. Each oval face, eyes, nose, and mouth are drawn with black lines. Column-like forms in royal blue encase the composition along the left and right edges, and a row flicks like inverted commas lines the top edge. The flicks over the left half are blue and the flicks over the right half are green. The artist signed and dated the work with blue paint at the bottom right: “HM 53 53.”
    Henri Matisse, Large Decoration with Masks, 1953, gouache on paper, cut and pasted on white paper, mounted on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1973.17.1

    Large Decoration with Masks

    Large Decoration with Masks

    Henri Matisse · 1953 · gouache on paper, cut and pasted on white paper, mounted on canvas ·  Accession ID  1973.17.1

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