painting by Henri Matisse
| Goldfish | |
|---|---|
| Artist | Henri Matisse |
| Year | |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | &#;cm ×&#;98&#;cm (55&#;in ×&#;39&#;in) |
| Location | Pushkin Museum, Moscow |
Goldfish is an oil-on-canvasstill life painting by French visual artist Henri Matisse. Painted in , Goldfish was part of a series that Matisse produced between the spring and early summer of
In the early s, Matisse established himself as a leader of the Fauvism art movement.[1] Fauvism emphasised a strong use of color and painterly qualities, as opposed to realistic representations found in Impressionist art. In , Matisse visited Tangier, Morocco, where he noted how the locals would be fascinated by goldfish swimming in bowls.[2]
Shortly after his visit to Morocco, Matisse produced a series of paintings that included Goldfish between the spring and early summer.[2]Goldfish was painted in Matisse's garden conservatory at his home in Issy-les-Moulineaux.[2] He moved there to escape the pressures of Paris.
The motif of fish in aquariums was notable in his work and would become a recurring sight from in the early and mids.[3][4][5]
The Goldfish painting was unlike other Matisse works featuring goldfish, as the four goldfish themselves are the focus of the piece.[2] Matisse continued the use of bright colours found in his Fauvist work on Goldfish. The painting features a "bright orange [that] strongly contrasts with the more subtle pinks and greens that surround the fish bowl and the blue-green background."[2]
A still life, the painting features "Matisse's own plants, his own garden furniture, and his own fish tank."[2] Additionally, Matisse's "depiction of space" in the piece creates a tension. The goldfish can be seen from two different angles simultaneously: from the front, where the viewer can immediately recognise them, and from above, where they are "merely suggested by colorful brushstrokes."[2]
Smarthistory wrote that Goldfish is "an illustration of some of the major themes in Matisse's painting: his use of complementary colors, his quest for an idyllic paradise, his appeal for contemplative relaxation for the viewer and his complex construction of pictorial space."[2]
The piece was purchased by Sergei Shchukin in Paris from Matisse's studio in , and was a part of Shchukin's Pink Drawing Room ensemble in his home.[3] Since , the work has been located at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Russia.[3]Goldfish holds the distinction of being the featured Matisse work found in the College Board's AP Art History curriculum.[2]