Three Apples and Plate, Henri Matisse, 1914–15
Henri Matisse, portraitHenri MatisseFrench, 1869–1954

Three Apples and Plate

1914–15 · Print · 9.21 × 14.29 cm

Can I see it?

Not on view at present

Where is “Three Apples and Plate” now? Collection: Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Minneapolis, United States

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked
In this state since
Source
The museum

About the work

The creation of a monotype involves drawing a design in ink on a smooth, nonabsorbent printing plate. While the ink is still wet, a sheet of paper is applied to the plate, which is then run through a press to transfer the image to the sheet of paper. Unlike other printing processes, the monotype technique allows for only one unique impression to be taken from the plate.

Matisse monotypes all date from a short period during the mid-teens, when he produced a total of about seventy. Artists frequently use monotype to create their images by building up desired areas of the dark ink on the surface of the plate. Matisse, however, reversed the process. He began with a plate completely covered in black ink, and subsequently scratched lines of varying width through the field of wet ink. The resulting white lines in his printed monotypes electrify and seem to quiver against the deep black ground.

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Details

Accession number
P.86.4

In the catalog

Sources

In the life of Henri Matisse

The whole life
  1. 1912

    First Exhibition in the United States

    Matisse's first American exhibition was held in New York, organized by Alfred Stieglitz at Gallery 291.

  2. 1912–1913

    Seven Months in Morocco

    Matisse spent about seven months in Morocco, producing roughly 24 paintings and numerous drawings. His Orientalist motifs — odalisques and goldfish in aquariums — date from this period.

  3. 1913

    Armory Show: A Storm of Indignation

    Several of Matisse's paintings were included in the Armory Show in New York and provoked a storm of indignation among the conservative American public. Nevertheless, his works continued to be exhibited in the United States until 1926.

All works

On view at Minneapolis Institute of Art

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