Still life with Blue Tablecloth

Artist?

Matisse

Date?

1909

Material?

Oil on canvas

Located?

The Hermitage

Patron?

Shchukin

Dimensions?

88 × 116cm

What still life painting was it directly inspired by?

Cezanne's ‘Still Life with Apples’ (1895-8)

What does this painting mark?

The beginning of his decorative phase

Characteristics of his Decorative phase?

• Less naturalism - no light source/shadows

• Rejecting academic tradition

Source: How did Matisse describe his decorative phase?

“Art of balance, purity and serenity”

Source: How does Grammont describe his decorative approach?

“Fabric covers almost the entire composition” - Grammont

How did Van Gogh inspire him?

Elevate the status of decorative arts - giving them a narrative role

What was the blue tablecloth inspired by?

• French ‘Toile de Jouy’

• Saw in a junkshop from the upper deck of a Parisian bus

What was another painting from his decorative phase?

• Red Studio (1911)

• Painters Family (1911)

At this point, what began to influence his style of painting significantly?

• Travel

• Increased success made travel possible

Where did he travel?

• 1907: Biskra in French Algeria

• 1910: Islamic exhibition, Munich

What was also impacting his new decorative phase?

New patrons & supporters

When did he meet Picasso?

1906

What happened as a result of this?

• Became close to the Stein family

• Purchased his work

• Introduced him to new Russian & American patrons.

What did Leo Stein purchase?

• The Joy of Life

• Woman in a Hat

• Blue Nude

Who was his most important new patron?

The Russian textile merchant, Sergei Shchukin

What philosopher was impactful?

• Bergson

• Mentioned in 1908: ‘Notes of a Painter’

• References concepts of Simultaneity & relativity of time

Where was blue colour first explored?

Blue Nude - Memory of Biskra (1907)

What did the different shades of blue refer to?

• Development of x-rays

• Depended on radium & a blue-ish coloured energy that emanated from atomic core of the element.

• Light had a blue tint = phosphorescent light.

Why was Matisse interested in chemistry?

His father owned a seed factory

Why in some ways was this painting political?

• He wanted to bring "balance and purity"

• Signac & Anarchism was influential.

What is anarchism?

A free society without any coercion

What did he want the painting do for Shchukin?

To bring him cheer after a family tragedy

What did Matisse's rivalry with Picasso do to his work?

Encouraged him to create his own form of Modernism

How was his Primitivism and Orientalism possible?

The French dominance of Algeria

What had be abandoned Fauvism in favour of?

• Surface design

• Led to an idyllic quality in his still lives & interiors.

What other painting did Shchukin purchase? What did this challenge?

• ‘Dinner Table - Harmony in Red’ (1908)

• Response to challenge of Cubism.

How else did Cezanne inspire Matisse?

The flatness of painting

However, what was totally innovative?

Suffusion of interior with a single colour

How did Shchukin define his decorative phase?

• New solid patron

• Influenced creation of groundbreaking lyrical works.

• E.g. ‘The Dance I’ (1909)

How was Shchukin highly perceptive to Matisse’s decorative vision?

Gave him financial stability - enabled him to travel.