Purple Robe and Anemones

A seated woman wears a striped purple robe, positioned near a table that holds a vase of anemones in mixed colors, all set against a backdrop of yellow stripes. The composition blends portrait and still life, pairing a human figure with a vivid arrangement of flowers. Henri Matisse painted this oil work in 1937, and it now belongs to the Baltimore Museum of Art, having come into the collection formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland. Matisse, who lived from 1869 to 1954 and worked in France, is associated with Fauvism and also created the celebrated piece Dance. One detail worth noticing is how the purple of the robe plays against the surrounding yellow stripes, letting the patterned textile and the clustered blooms share equal visual weight within the scene.