Henri Matisse
Anemones and Chinese Vase
1921
Scroll
Henri Matisse
Anemones and Chinese Vase
1921
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, Unframed: 24 × 36 1/2 × 7/8 in. (61 × 92.7 × 2.2 cm.)
Framed: 30 15/16 × 43 5/16 × 3 1/4 in. (78.6 × 110 × 8.3 cm.)
Credit Line
The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland
Object Number
1950.248
Matisse loved flowers and often included them in his compositions. In this still life, a bunch of colorful anemones spread energetically from the ceramic vase, contrasting with the geometric shapes of the wallpaper and floor, and rhyming with the organic forms of the floral rug and fruit on the table. He also makes references to another theme that occupied him at this time, the odalisque, by incorporating the seductive bottom half of one of his odalisque paintings on the wall behind the still life. Throughout his career, Matisse often included recognizable images of other compositions in his interiors.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by bequest, 1949; Etta Cone, 1929; Claribel Cone and Etta Cone, Baltimore, by purchase, 1923; from Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris
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The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Cone Collection of Modern Paintings and Sculpture," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1930, p.5, no. 28. (Published as "Anemones")
Etta Cone, "The Cone Collection of Baltimore-Maryland," Baltimore: Etta Cone, 1934, p. 24, pl. 49, ill. (Published as "Anémones et Vase Chinois")
Adelyn D. Breeskin, "Still Life and Flower Paintings," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1945, p. 26, no. 66. (Published as "Anemones in a Chinese Vase")
George Boas, Adelyn D. Breeskin, and J.G. D'Arcy Paul, "Selections from the Cone Collection," "News of The Baltimore Museum of Art," October 1949, vol. 13, no. 1, p. 16.
Gertrude Rosenthal, "Cone Memorial Exhibition," "News of The Baltimore Museum of Art," January-February, 1950, vol. XIII, nos. 4, 5, n.p., ill.
Alfred H. Barr, Jr., "Matisse: His Art and His Public," New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1951, p. 557.
Clive Bell, "Modern French Painting: The Cone Collection," Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1951, pp. 19-20, p. 19, ill.
"News of The Baltimore Museum of Art," May - June 1952, vol. XV, Nos. 7-8, cover page, ill.
"Art," "Gardens, Houses and People," December 1954, vol. XXIX, no. 12, p. 27, ill.
John Rewald, "Magic of Flowers in Painting: Loan Exhibition for the Benefit of the Lenox Hill Neighborhood Association," New York: Wildenstein and Company, New York, 1954, no. 42, ill.
George Boas, Adelyn Breeskin, and Gertrude Rosenthal, "Cone Collection: A Handbook with a Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1955, pp. 12, 31, 34, no. 63, ill.
Carla Gottlieb, "The Role of the Window in the Art of Matisse," "The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism," Summer 1964, vol. XXII, no. 4, p. 402, fig. 17, ill. (Published as "Flower Festival at Nice")
George Boas, Adelyn Breeskin, and Gertrude Rosenthal, "Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings in the Cone Collection," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1967, pp. 11, 25, 32, 67, no. 60, ill.
Erwin O. Christensen, "A Guide to Art Museums in the United States," New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1968, p. 113, fig. 251, ill.
"Masterpieces in Bloom: A Loan Exhibition of Flower Paintings for the Benefit of the New York Botanical Garden," New York: Wildenstein and Company, 1973, no. 35.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Cone Collection from The Baltimore Museum of Art: A Benefit Exhibition at Wildenstein," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1974, no. 23.
Pierre Schneider, Massimo Carrà and Xavier Deryng, "Tout l'Oeuvre Peint de Matisse 1904-1928," Paris: Flammarion, 1982, pp. 102, 115, no. 392, ill. (Published as "Vase de Chine aux Anemones")
Pierre Schneider, "Matisse," New York: Rizzoli, 1984, pp. 513, 747.
Brenda Richardson, "Dr. Claribel & Miss Etta: The Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1985, pp. 94, 172-173, 198, 200, p. 172, ill.
Jack Cowart and Dominique Fourcade, "Henri Matisse The Early Years in Nice 1916-1930," New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1987, p. 53. (Published as "Anémones et vase chinois")
John Esten, Olof Wahlund and Rosalind Fischell, "Blue and White China: Origins/Western Influences," Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1987, pp. 41, 151, p. 41, ill.
Jacqueline and Maurice Guillaud, "Matisse: Le Rythme et la Ligne," Paris: Guillaud Editions, 1987, pp. 150, 646, no. 169, ill. (Published as "Vase de Chine aux anémones")
Guy-Patrice and Michel Dauberville, "Henri Matisse Chez Bernheim-Jeune, vols. 1-2" Paris: Éditions Bernheim-Jeune, 1995, pp. 1124-1125, 1441, no. 559, ill. (Published as "Nature morte: fleurs")
Nobuyuki Senzoku and Akira Tomita, "Matisse and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," Tokyo: Brain Trust Inc., 1996, pp. 68, 158, no. 20, ill.
Jack Flam, "Matisse in the Cone Collection: The Poetics of Vision," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2001, pp. 78-79, pl. 34, ill.
Douglas L. Frost, "Making History /Making Art/MICA," Baltimore: Maryland Institute College of Art, 2010, pp. 134-135, ill.
Karen Levitov, "Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore," New York: The Jewish Museum, 2011, p. 19, ill.
Inscribed: Recto: Lower left in paint, "Henri.Matisse" Verso: Top center stretcher, black circular stamp, "ZOLL/P-58/+"; square browned label in dark ink, "N°23030/Henri Matisse/fleurs/RN000"; in black ink, "Bj" Middle center stretcher, black stamp, "P"; in graphite, N23030/#Matisse/Fleurs/ RN000" Bottom center stretcher in black ink, "49"