In the manner of Henri Matisse
French, 1869–1954
The Public Pool, 2026
Gouache cut-outs and oil
200 × 160 cm
Never painted.
Commissioned for the collection, 2026.
PAB 2026.16.2
Blue swimmers dive, float and bob through a band of turquoise water, a woman lies on an orange lilo, someone sits in a rubber ring, and orange balls hang in the air as if thrown a moment ago. A yellow sun and fronds of weed fill the white. When he could no longer get to the sea, Matisse cut a swimming pool out of paper and ran it round the walls of his dining room.
The brief
Blue cut-paper swimmers in various poses on a white ground with a band of turquoise water and orange floats. Mid-century paper cut-out composition, bold flat shapes of saturated gouache-painted paper in blue, coral, green and yellow pinned on a white ground, organic leaf and figure silhouettes, joyful simplicity, visible cut edges and pin marks, decorative rhythm, no shading. Museum photograph of the cut-paper work on white, flat even lighting, no frame, no text, no wall, no floor, cropped to the canvas edge.
Written to the house rules. The painter's name does not appear.
Take it home
The painting on this room's wall, at its own proportions, nothing written on it.
