Daisies

Henri MatisseWW-1939-016521

1939·Oil on canvas·92 × 65 cm (36 3/16 × 25 5/8 in.)

Henri Matisse titled this composition after the prominent vase of flowers on a tabletop. The large fields of unmodulated black, blue, and red reflect the artist’s growing interest in abstraction and a formal effect that he termed “ballast,” a synonym for stability. Painted only months before France declared war on Germany, Daisies was first owned by the influential modern art dealer Paul Rosenberg (1881–1959). Within a year of purchasing the painting, Rosenberg, among other Jewish dealers, was targeted by the Nazis and was forced to flee France. Daisies was seized along with the majority of Rosenberg’s collection. Only after the war ended and a portion of these works were recuperated by the US Army was Rosenberg able to reclaim some of his collection, including this piece, which he brought to his newly founded gallery in New York.

Catalogue

Year: 1939
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 92 × 65 cm (36 3/16 × 25 5/8 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Henri Matisse

Artist

Henri Matisse

Painting

H enri Matisse, a leading force of modern art and founding figure of Fauvism, transformed vibrant color and bold form into a signature style that reshaped 20th-century aesthetics—from early radical experiments to his iconic late-career cut-outs. His works, held in top museums worldwide, remain highly collectible, with a historically strong and reliable market performance.

Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France

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