Henri Matisse
The Pierced Rock
1920
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Henri Matisse
The Pierced Rock
1920
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas on artist's paperboard, Unframed: 14 7/8 × 18 × 1/8 in. (37.8 × 45.7 × 0.3 cm.)
Framed: 22 3/8 × 25 5/16 × 2 1/2 in. (56.8 × 64.3 × 6.4 cm.)
Credit Line
The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland
Object Number
1950.234
In 1920, Matisse traveled to the port town of Étretat on the Normandy coast to seek landscape motifs. While there, he depicted the town’s famous cliffs and rock formations. These works evoke not only the subject matter but also some of the compositional formats of Claude Monet’s paintings of the 1880s featuring the same location.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by bequest, 1949; Etta Cone, Baltimore, by purchase, 1943; M. Knoedler, New York; Lord Ivor Churchill, London
William M. Milliken, The Cleveland Museum of Art, "French Art Since Eighteen Hundred", November 7, 1929-December 9, 1929 (exhibited as "La roche percée").
Pennsylvania Museum of Art, Philadelphia, "The Fauves: 1900", March 16, 1935-May 8, 1935 (exhibited as "Les Rochers").
Gertrude Rosenthal, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Selections from the Cone Collection", October 7, 1949-December 31, 1949, no. 38 (exhibited as "Cliffs").
Pierre Schneider, Grand Palais, Paris, "Henri Matisse: Exposition du Centenaire", April, 1970-September 1970, no. 165 (exhibited as "La Roche Percée").
Jane Harrison Cone, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Cone Collection from The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to Wildenstein and Company, New York, March 29, 1974-May 4, 1974, no. 21 (exhibited as "Cliffs").
Brenda Richardson, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse in the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, August 24, 1979-October 14, 1979.
Brain Trust Inc., Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo, "Matisse and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", October 3, 1996-December 28, 1996, no. 14; circulated to the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, January 8, 1997-February 11, 1997.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse from The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Denver Art Museum, March 11, 2000-June 25, 2000; circulated to the Birmingham Museum of Art, July 23, 2000-September 17, 2000; The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, October 10, 2000-January 28, 2001.
Katherine Rothkopf, The North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, "Matisse Picasso and the School of Paris: Masterpieces from The Baltimore Museum of Art featuring Selections from the Collection of Etta and Claribel Cone", October 10, 2004-January 16, 2005.
Katy Rothkopf, BMA, "Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore", circulated to The Jewish Museum, New York, 6 May-25 September 2011, Vancouver Art Gallery, 2 June-23 September 2012, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, 3 November 2012-10 February 2013.
Pennsylvania Museum of Art, Philadelphia, "The Fauves: 1900", March 16, 1935-May 8, 1935 (exhibited as "Les Rochers").
Gertrude Rosenthal, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Selections from the Cone Collection", October 7, 1949-December 31, 1949, no. 38 (exhibited as "Cliffs").
Pierre Schneider, Grand Palais, Paris, "Henri Matisse: Exposition du Centenaire", April, 1970-September 1970, no. 165 (exhibited as "La Roche Percée").
Jane Harrison Cone, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Cone Collection from The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to Wildenstein and Company, New York, March 29, 1974-May 4, 1974, no. 21 (exhibited as "Cliffs").
Brenda Richardson, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse in the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, August 24, 1979-October 14, 1979.
Brain Trust Inc., Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo, "Matisse and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", October 3, 1996-December 28, 1996, no. 14; circulated to the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, January 8, 1997-February 11, 1997.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse from The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Denver Art Museum, March 11, 2000-June 25, 2000; circulated to the Birmingham Museum of Art, July 23, 2000-September 17, 2000; The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, October 10, 2000-January 28, 2001.
Katherine Rothkopf, The North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, "Matisse Picasso and the School of Paris: Masterpieces from The Baltimore Museum of Art featuring Selections from the Collection of Etta and Claribel Cone", October 10, 2004-January 16, 2005.
Katy Rothkopf, BMA, "Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore", circulated to The Jewish Museum, New York, 6 May-25 September 2011, Vancouver Art Gallery, 2 June-23 September 2012, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, 3 November 2012-10 February 2013.
Elie Faure, Jules Romains, Charles Vildrac and Leon Werth, "Henri-Matisse," Paris: G. Crès et Cie, 1923, no. 19, ill. (Published as "Etretat, La Petite Roche Percée")
William M. Milliken, "French Art Since Eighteen Hundred," "The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art," November 1929, vol. 16, no. 9, p. 169. (Published as "La roche percée")
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. 14. (Published as "Cliffs")
Alfred H. Barr, Jr., "Matisse: His Art and His Public," New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1951, p. 557. (Published as "Cliffs")
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, p. 32, no. 49. (Published as "Cliffs")
George Boas, Adelyn Breeskin, and Gertrude Rosenthal, "Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings in the Cone Collection," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1967, p. 66, no. 46. (Published as "Cliffs")
Pierre Schneider and Tamara Préaud, "Henri Matisse: Exposition du Centenaire," Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1970, pp. 88, 226, no. 165, ill. (Published as "La Roche Percée")
Massimo Carrà and Mario Luzi, "L'opera di Matisse dalla rivolta 'fauve' all'intimismo 1904-1928," Milan: Rizzoli 1971, pp. 99, 100, 113, 114, no. 327, ill. (Published as "Roccia Forata")
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, cat. no. 21. (Published as "Cliffs")
Pierre Schneider, Massimo Carrà and Xavier Deryng, "Tout l'Oeuvre Peint de Matisse 1904-1928," Paris: Flammarion, 1982, p. 99-100, 115, no. 327, ill. (Published as "La Roche Percée")
Brenda Richardson, "Dr. Claribel & Miss Etta: The Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1985, pp. 193, 197.
Guy-Patrice and Michel Dauberville, "Henri Matisse Chez Bernheim-Jeune, vols. 1-2" Paris: Éditions Bernheim-Jeune, 1995, pp. 888-889, 1438, no. 402, ill. (Published as "La roche percée - Étretat")
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. 61, 149, 158, no. 14, ill.
Jack Flam, "Matisse in the Cone Collection: The Poetics of Vision," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2001, pp. 55, 58, pl. 21, ill.
Karen Levitov, "Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore," New York: The Jewish Museum, 2011, pp. 67, 76, pl. 45, ill.
Fillion, Susan. Miss Etta and Dr. Claribel: Bringing Matisse to America. Boston: David R. Godine, 2011, page 38.
Cozzi, Leslie and Katherine Rothkopf (eds). "A Modern Influence: Henri Matisse, Etta Cone, and Baltimore." Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2021. ill.
Inscribed: Recto: Lower right, "Henri Matisse" Verso: Top left corner, partially ripped rectangular white label with a red border in graphite and black ink, "1950.234/cat. #38" Top left in blue crayon, "4747" Top left, circular navy stamp, "DOUANE FRANÇAISES/___/BATIGNELLS/A.T." Top center in blue crayon, "(7975)" Top center on a browned rectangular stamp, "17027" Top center in blue crayon,"7027" Top center in blue crayon, "F431" Top center, square browned label, "N°24747/Henri Matisse/Roche Percée/l.i.v" Top right, browned label with a navy border, in ink, "808/26" Top right, on a browned rectangular printed label, "PENNSYLVANIA MUSEUM OF ART/FAIRMOUNT, PHILADELPHIA/ARTIST Matisse/TITLE Les Rochers/INSURANCE VALUE/SALES VALUE $4000/LENDER M. Knoedler and Company/ADDRESS OF LENDER 14 East 57th St., N.Y." Center of the canvas, upside down in white, "13" Lower left corner in blue pencil, "381" Bottom center, written and circled in blue crayon, "52" Bottom center, written, crossed out and circled in pink crayon, "47"
