Still Life with Pascal’s Pensées

This still life shows Matisse continually exploring  the arrangement of simple objects within an interior. The light in this work is cool, as if it is filtered by the mid-morning fog and filtered through the translucent curtains of this against which the soft tufts of anemone petals create a vibrant focal point in this ‘particularly concise and felicitous composition.’ Following the stems down to the exotic blue-and-white vessel there is a copy of Pascal, a classic tomb of French literature, resting on the table beside a golden teacup, giving the viewer the impression that Matisse has captured a snapshot of  life.  

Original Medium: oil on canvas

Original Size: 19 1/4 x 25 1/8 in.

Date: 1924

Location: Minneapolis Institute of Arts