This painted ceramic plate was made during a fruitful period of collaboration between Matisse and the ceramist André Metthey (1871–1920). Metthey, who worked in Asnières, a town just northwest of Paris, dedicated himself to reviving the lost art of hand-painted ceramics. He invited many artists to decorate his earthenware, which were made from local clays and glazed to provide a stable surface for painting. Matisse produced some forty ceramic pieces with Metthey in 1907–08. He chose to keep most of these for himself, and they were long-known chiefly through their frequent depiction in his paintings.
Gallery label from Matisse: The Red Studio, May 1–September 10, 2022
