Still LIfe with Fruit and Bottles 1896

Henri Matisse made this oil-on-canvas still life painting of fruit and bottles. Matisse, a leading figure in the Fauvist movement in France, challenged conventional academic art. By the early 20th century, Paris was the place to be for artists wanting to push boundaries. Avant-garde artists questioned traditional representation and the established institutions of art. They showcased work in independent salons that weren’t controlled by the Academy des Beaux-Arts. Matisse was part of a radical new generation of artists exhibiting in these spaces who experimented with pure color and form. This still life reflects those concerns. The historian of art looks at the exhibition history of a painting, reads period reviews, and studies letters and journals to better understand its place in the world. This brings us closer to understanding the social conditions that shape artistic production.