The Poissons Rouge Paintings

The Poissons Rouge Paintings

Besides the two paintings mentioned in this Exhibit, Intérieur aux poissons rouge and Poissons Rouges et Sculpture, Matisse completed two more paintings in which goldfish (poissons rouges) are an integral part on canvas. They become an important sign that Matisse was not returning to Fauvism in his interim in Paris, as noted in Matisse's Interim in Paris: A Return to Fauvism? , and that he remained preoccupied with his far-away getaway. Before evaluating their significance as proof of this fascination with Morocco during his brief return to Paris it is first necessary to evaluate the dates assigned to these paintings.

Poissons Rouges et Sculpture, though dated 1911 in some books, should also be assigned the date of spring of 1912. It is very similar in composition to Intérieur aux poissons rouge, which dates itself due to the small picture of Zorah en Jaune on the wall in the painting. Furthermore, Poissons Rouges et Sculpture is much lighter than paintings Matisse completed in late 1911, and of a much different composition, containing background colors more characteristic of spring or summer than of fall or winter. Its close similiarities to Intérieur aux poissons rouge are practically undeniable, and thus it should be dated spring of 1912.

The year in which both Poissons Rouges paintings were completed is also surrounded by a mist of confusion, partially due to inadequacies in information surrounding their dates and the disorder brought upon by a duplication of the name for both paintings. The painting in Moscow has been dated 1911, but both Jack Flam, author of Matisse: The Man and His Art, and Jack Elderfield, in his essay in Matisse in Morocco, point out that the painting was mentioned in a letter Matisse received on August 22, 1912, and it was made clear that the painting had just been finished and therefore was most likely completed in the spring of 1912 between Matisse’s two trips to Morocco. The other Poissons Rouges painting, now hanging in Copenhagen, has been dated 1909, but Flam asserts that it too should be assigned to the spring of 1912 due to its similarity to its counterpart, and due to the fact that Matisse had not yet spent time painting goldfish, nor had he visited Morocco. Therefore, we may conclude that both Poissons Rouges paintings were also completed in the spring of 1912.

If it can be agreed that all four Poissons Rouges paintings were completed in the spring of 1912, the goldfish theme becomes relevant in consideration of Matisse’s Moroccan travels. As with the significance of Zorah en Jaune on the walls of Intérieur aux poissons rouge, the plethora of goldfish in Matisse’s paintings during this interim away from Morocco signify his preoccupation with the foreign and exotic land. Furthermore, as Elderfield notes, these paintings are “evidence that Matisse’s new methods of making decorative compositions after nature had generated their own subjects� (Cowart et. al. 221). This may be true, but even more significant is that, even with subjects from nature in Paris, Matisse chose those that were hundreds of miles away. Nothing prevented Matisse from painting scenes of Paris while he stayed there; he was accustomed to painting in any season, and having just returned from painting scenes and subjects where he could see them, it would seem unnatural for Matisse to paint from memory, not from sight. This affirms that it is significant that Matisse included goldfish as a primary part of all four paintings, and they contribute to the proof that Matisse was continuing to move away from Fauvism.


INTÉRIEUR AUX POISSONS ROUGES, 1912, on left
Henri Matisse
oil on canvas
The Barnes Foundation, Merion, Pennsylvania

POISSONS ROUGE ET SCULPTURE, 1912, on right
Henri Matisse
oil on canvas
The Museum of Modern Art, New York

POISSONS ROUGES, 1911 or 1912?, on left
Henri Matisse
oil on canvas
State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow

POISSONS ROUGES, 1909 or 1912?, on right
Henri Matisse
oil on canvas
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen