Still Life with Oranges 1898

Curator: This is Henri Matisse’s "Still Life with Oranges," painted in 1898. The medium is oil on canvas, and it resides in a private collection. Editor: My immediate impression is… rustic abundance. There's almost a breathless quality, like the fruits have just been plucked and placed with everything else in haste. It's cozy, you know? Curator: Cozy, that’s interesting. In still life traditions, fruit often represents vanitas, the fleeting nature of life. Are the oranges ripe or on the verge of spoiling? Are these vessels about to be drained of their contents? Editor: I feel that too, it isn't fully light, even with that vivid orange! Maybe the coziness comes from it accepting shadow and impermanence. A generous table accepts rot as part of life! Curator: Matisse’s use of impasto adds to the vibrancy but also introduces that feeling of movement, or fleetingness, as you mentioned. Thick brushstrokes capture light differently than smooth surfaces, it brings about such dynamism. It reflects the influences of Impressionism as you see here. Editor: You’re right, it’s like he’s chasing the moment. It’s funny, thinking of Matisse as chasing anything, as a young guy wrestling with Impressionism, though! And all these verticals in bottles and containers. He just needs one splash of color for the fruit! Curator: Note how these vertical objects—bottles and pitcher—rise from the composition and hold and display their individual history through recognizable form. Whereas the table of earthly delights, a temporary stage, shows no restraint. It has no structure! It reflects something psychological, don’t you think? Editor: Yes, perhaps those reaching up forms contrast so the other is fully itself! All oranges! It feels...grounded. You’re also hinting it can have symbolic weight on different levels? From tradition up to personal intention. Curator: Indeed. Now when I look at "Still Life with Oranges" I recognize so much of art history's layers present in its visual motifs. Editor: And I think now, it reminds me to just make room for abundance, to embrace a little lovely chaos like that table top, in the meantime of individual journeys upwards, perhaps!