Three Apples and Plate

Henri Matisse

1914–15

Monotype on chine paper

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Three apples are arranged in a bowl or on a plate against a dark background. The composition is rendered in a stark, high-contrast style with white lines defining the forms. The creation of a monotype involves drawing a design in ink on a smooth, nonabsorbent printing plate. While the ink is still wet, a sheet of paper is applied to the plate, which is then run through a press to transfer the image to the sheet of paper. Unlike other printing processes, the monotype technique allows for only one unique impression to be taken from the plate. Matisse monotypes all date from a short period during the mid-teens, when he produced a total of about seventy. Artists frequently use monotype to create their images by building up desired areas of the dark ink on the surface of the plate. Matisse, however, reversed