1922, Henri Matisse, Festival of Flowers -- Baltimore Museum of Art
From the museum label: In the spring of 1921, Matisse began a series of paintings that depict the annual parade of flower-decorated floats and marching bands in Nice, a celebration that marked the change in season from winter to spring. In this composition, Marguerite Matisse (the artist's daughter) and Henriette Darricarrère pose in their winter coats on the balcony of the artist's studio as they watch the parade pass by. The two women are gazing into a distant area that is out of the viewer's sight, creating a sense of mystery. Twenty years later, Matisse described the distraction of living in Nice during the annual flower festival: "When I was living in the Hôtel de la Méditerranée, the Battle of the Flowers was almost a torture for me. All that music, the floats and the laughter on the Promenade."
1922, Henri Matisse, Festival of Flowers -- Baltimore Museum of Art
From the museum label: In the spring of 1921, Matisse began a series of paintings that depict the annual parade of flower-decorated floats and marching bands in Nice, a celebration that marked the change in season from winter to spring. In this composition, Marguerite Matisse (the artist's daughter) and Henriette Darricarrère pose in their winter coats on the balcony of the artist's studio as they watch the parade pass by. The two women are gazing into a distant area that is out of the viewer's sight, creating a sense of mystery. Twenty years later, Matisse described the distraction of living in Nice during the annual flower festival: "When I was living in the Hôtel de la Méditerranée, the Battle of the Flowers was almost a torture for me. All that music, the floats and the laughter on the Promenade."