The Van Gogh Museum has acquired its first work by Henri Matisse (1869–1954), achieving a long-standing ambition to expand its collection of artists directly inspired by Van Gogh with a Matisse.
Olive Grove in Collioure (1905) will be presented in the museum alongside a reed pen drawing by Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890). Matisse was directly influenced by Van Gogh’s expressive colours, as well as by his dynamic drawing style.
Linework and vivid colours
Matisse made Olive Grove in Collioure in 1905 during his first summer in the Southern French town, where he painted many significant works. Matisse shared Van Gogh’s fascination with the sun-drenched Mediterranean landscape; he used vivid and unmixed colours to capture the shimmering summer light.
Much of the canvas in Olive Grove in Collioure remains unpainted, and Matisse deliberately left drawn lines visible. This interplay of lines directs the viewer to the figure in the middle: Matisse’s wife, who walks towards the painter holding a bright red parasol.
The new acquisition alongside Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), ‘Trees in the Garden of the Asylum’, 1889, pencil and reed pen and ink on paper, 47.2 cm x 61.5 cm, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation). Photo: Luuk Kramer
