Henri Matisse

Matisse used vivid colors to render the simple forms and geometric background of this composition. An extended title, Still life with lemons whose forms correspond to a drawing of a black vase upon the wall, points to intentional relationships between shapes. The pitcher echoes the curves of the plump lemons below, and its neck and base are repeated in the foot of the blue glass compote at lower left. A book (titled Tapis, or Carpets) neatly aligns with the brilliant red wedge on which a lemon rests. The forms seem to float on the surface of this painting, unburdened by mass or by placement in space.