Still Life: Bouquet and Compotier

Henri Matisse

1924

Oil on canvas

Dallas Museum of Art

Beginning in the early 20th century, Henri Matisse began making floral still lifes, an interest he maintained for the rest of his life. In the central foreground of this painting, a gold-rimmed white fruit dish, or compotier, is the one object that has clearly defined volume and contour. Behind the compotier, Matisse juxtaposed a bouquet of loosely rendered flowers against the vertical backdrop of a folding screen painted with a floral motif. In his placement of the vase of flowers in front of a flat, floral surface, Matisse challenged viewers to consider which flowers are painted and which are real. He also played with the depictio