Jan 25, 2025
Woman before an Aquarium
Artist: Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954)
Date: 1921-1923
Medium: Oil on canvas
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
Description
In the first two decades of the 20th century, Henri Matisse visited exhibitions of Islamic art and traveled to Algeria and Morocco, where he collected pottery, textiles, and tiles. Years later while living in Nice, France, Matisse reflected on these experiences, integrating visual elements he encountered, such as the patterned textile screen, into his paintings. In Woman before an Aquarium, the carefully subdued decorative pattern of the screen contributes to the psychologically rich, contemplative mood of this interior scene.