Woman before an Aquarium
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.
Colors in this work
Details
- Artist
- Henri Matisse
- Date
- 1921–23
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 81.2 × 100.2 cm (31 15/16 × 39 7/16 in.)
- Origin
- France
- Department
- Modern Art
- Holding institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Palette
-
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- Image provider
- art-institute-chicago
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection
Art Genome Taxonomy
9 tags
Subject Matter
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Interiors Both · 99%
The catalog identifies an interior scene, and the image visibly shows a woman seated or reclining indoors among a chair, table, fishbowl, and patterned screen.
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Human Figure Both · 99%
The catalog lists women as a subject, and the image visibly centers on a single woman resting her arms on the table.
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Animals Both · 99%
Fish, fishbowls, aquariums, and goldfish are listed as subjects, while the image clearly shows several fish inside a round glass bowl.
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Scenes of Everyday Life Both · 87%
The catalog describes the setting as an interior scene and the image shows an ordinary domestic arrangement centered on a woman, furniture, a fishbowl, and objects on a table.
Visual Qualities
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Patterns Both · 99%
The image visibly features a repeating blue linear motif across the background screen, and the catalog specifically describes a patterned textile screen.
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Dense Composition Visual · 91%
The composition is visually crowded by the patterned screen, overlapping figure, chair, fishbowl, table, pine cones, and foliage, producing a concentrated interior arrangement.
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Dark Colors Visual · 87%
The painting is dominated by subdued blue, brown, mauve, green, and gray tones rather than highly saturated color.
Medium and Techniques
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Oil Painting Metadata · 99%
The Art Institute of Chicago classifies the work as a painting in oil on canvas, dated 1921–23.
Geographic Regions
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French Art Metadata · 99%
The work originated in France and is by Henri Matisse, identified in the catalog as French, 1869–1954.
Source & rights
Henri Matisse. Woman before an Aquarium. The Art Institute of Chicago.
High-resolution sources
- IIIF image service ↗ 1,686 × 1,347 · Art Institute Chicago · Availability not yet probed