Pierre Matisse Gallery

established 1931

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Two columns of brightly colored rectangles are layered with geometric shapes and organic forms in this abstract, vertical artwork. The rectangles are painted, and the abstract shapes are cut from pieces of painted paper. The left column is stacked top to bottom with rectangles in black, lime green, sage green, sunshine yellow, watermelon pink, and amethyst purple. There is also a pink triangle above the pink rectangle, near the middle of the column. Spanning different sections of the column are a blue spiral and a curling blue line, white petal-like shapes, and purple and blue stylized leaves, perhaps seaweed, and triangles. A narrow black form like the profile of a stylized fish and a curve radiating spikes float in the middle of the column. The rectangles of the right column are silvery gray, goldenrod yellow, bright green, lime green, sunshine yellow, and sapphire blue. The column is layered with two more black spiky shapes, a short vertical royal-blue curving line, and an elongated, white U shape. A long, black S-shape floats over the top four rectangles, and a pumpkin-orange spiral lies on top of a sapphire-blue circle near the yellow rectangle at the bottom. That yellow rectangle has blue rectangle at its center and a darker yellow rectangle to the left. There is a white wavy line up the blue area, a black wavy line to each side in the yellow, and one black heart-shape near the each of the lower corners of the blue field. Higher up, the lime-green rectangle in each column also has a smaller, darker green rectangle painted within. The work is set against a flat, parchment-brown background. The artist wrote the title in black cursive letters across bottom, “les betes de la mer...” and signed and dated the lower right, “H. Matisse 50.”
Henri Matisse, Beasts of the Sea, 1950, gouache on paper, cut and pasted on white paper, mounted on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1973.18.1

Beasts of the Sea

Henri Matisse · 1950 · gouache on paper, cut and pasted on white paper, mounted on canvas ·  Accession ID  1973.18.1

Josep Royo, Woman, 1977, wool and cotton tapestry, Gift of the Collectors Committee and George L. Erion, 1978.23.1

Woman

Josep Royo · 1977 · wool and cotton tapestry ·  Accession ID  1978.23.1

A nude woman sitting with bent knees is carved from white marble in this freestanding sculpture. In this view, the woman’s body faces us. Her right knee, to our left, is bent so that leg lies along the ground. Her feet are together, and the other bent leg is upright. She holds her left hand, to our right, to that cheek so the elbow is close to the raised knee. She leans onto her other hand, which is placed just behind her with the fingers facing in. Her round face tips toward her raised hand, and she has delicate features and wide cheeks. Her hair is parted down the middle, rolled along her hairline, and is pulled back. The square base on which she sits is carved from the same piece of marble. The sculpture is photographed against a gray background.
Aristide Maillol, La Méditerranée, c. 1906, Carrara marble, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1995.47.17

La Méditerranée

Aristide Maillol · c. 1906 · Carrara marble ·  Accession ID  1995.47.17

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The Street

Loren MacIver · 1956 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  2015.19.82

Shown from the thighs up, a light-skinned man stands facing us in front of a harvest-yellow background in this loosely painted vertical portrait. The man’s body faces us, and he looks out with dark, heavy-lidded eyes under low, angular brows. His skin is pink on his full cheeks and streaked with light green on his forehead. A wide brown moustache droops over a prominent, square chin. His short brown is neatly combed over his head. His collared, long-sleeved white shirt is painted with mostly vertical strokes. A short vivid red tie falls about halfway down his chest, and he wears dark pants. His right arm, to our left, is planted on that hip, and his other arm hangs by his side. The man’s features and his clothing are outlined with teal green. The name “PETRVS MANACH” is painted in forest-green letters in the upper left corner of the rich yellow background. The artist also signed the work in the lower right corner, “Picasso.”
Pablo Picasso, Pedro Mañach, 1901, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.53

Pedro Mañach

Pablo Picasso · 1901 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1963.10.53

Vincent van Gogh, The Harvest, 1888, reed pen and brown ink over graphite on wove paper, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1985.64.91

The Harvest

Vincent van Gogh · 1888 · reed pen and brown ink over graphite on wove paper ·  Accession ID  1985.64.91

Henri Matisse, The Plumed Hat, 1919, graphite on wove paper, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1995.47.58

The Plumed Hat

Henri Matisse · 1919 · graphite on wove paper ·  Accession ID  1995.47.58

A woman plays an upright piano as two boys play checkers at a table in this horizontal painting. The scene is loosely painted with areas of flat color and pattern. The people have pale, peachy skin and dark brown hair. Their facial features are painted with dots or short strokes of black. The piano is against the wall to our left. The woman wears a short-sleeved, lemon-yellow dress with a long skirt. A music book is propped on the music stand, and loosely painted objects line the top of the instrument. The wall behind the piano is patterned with white and pale yellow flowers under and around arches against a cranberry-red background. The table where the boys play is in the middle of the room. The players sit in wooden chairs and wear black and white striped jackets with white collars. The boy to our right looks at the board while resting his left cheek, closer to us, in his hand. The other boy looks on with his arms on the table in front of him. The checkerboard sits on a red and white striped cloth, which has lines of black dots in the white strips. Beneath the table is a floral rug with blue and black flowers against a red background. The border is painted loosely with leafy shapes against bright white. Beneath the area rug the floor or another carpet is garnet red with a diamond-shaped grid painted in orange. A petal-pink, upholstered chair sits in front of a tall wardrobe in the back corner of the room. A picture with two violins against a blue background hangs on the side of the furniture to our right. A chest of drawers next to the wardrobe holds a few bowls or objects and a white statue, about half human height. The statue is of a person standing with one knee bent in front of the other, one elbow tucked by the side with that hand held to the chest, and the other bent elbow raised overhead. Pictures hang on the wall around the statue, and the wallpaper there is ivory white with a dark yellow pattern. The artist signed the work in the lower right corner, “Henri Matisse.”
Henri Matisse, Pianist and Checker Players, 1924, oil on canvas, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1985.64.25

Pianist and Checker Players

Henri Matisse · 1924 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1985.64.25

Joan Miró, Woman, 1976, oil on canvas, Gift of George L. Erion, 1977.45.1

Woman

Joan Miró · 1976 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1977.45.1

At least two surreal, imaginary creatures are surrounded by rubbed and blended orbs of coral orange, dandelion yellow, cobalt blue, emerald green, black, gray, and pastel green and pink in this abstracted painting. The larger being is in the center of the canvas and nearly reaches the top edge. Its triangular, oblong head has a tiny face with two eyes, a nose, and a dash for a mouth at the top corner. A long, sinuous neck reaches halfway down the composition to join the oval-shaped body, which has two thick arms with small hands. A V-shaped form at the center of the body, like folded wings, and a rounded bottom are difficult to interpret. What may be legs are fragmented fields of flat cardinal red, black, yellow, and green. The second creature is about a third the height of the first. Tucked in the lower right corner of the canvas, this critter has a tiny bird-like head, a bulbous body, and long legs. A second bird with a short beak and a crest like a rooster appears to be superimposed upside down on the other bird, so the clawed feet point upward. A six-pointed star painted in black with two red triangles and one yellow triangle at its center is over the birds. A tall shape made of black circles like a tower of bubbles is to the left. The upper corners of the painting are rubbed with mostly gray and black, and patches of color create a loose band across the composition about a third of the way down the canvas. Some areas, like the two birds in the lower right, might be drawn directly onto the textured canvas. The artist signed the lower right corner, “Miró.”
Joan Miró, The Shooting Star, 1938, oil on canvas, Gift of Joseph H. Hazen, 1970.36.1

The Shooting Star

Joan Miró · 1938 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1970.36.1