Skip to main content

Breakfast

1920
Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954)

The artist’s model Antoinette Arnoud twists in her chair and glances from her book, lost in melancholic thoughts or daydreams. Similar images of women in interiors are frequent among Henri Matisse’s work from the early 1920s. The table with red-and-white striped tablecloth, upholstered chair, and oval mirror were recurring props in related compositions of the same year, and the placement of their juxtaposed shapes, patterns, and colors in gentle visual tension was also a repeated compositional device. The setting of this picture is a room in the Hôtel de la Méditerranée, an establishment facing the harbor of the city of Nice on France’s southern coast, where Matisse lived and worked intermittently from 1918 to 1920.


Object Details

We are always open to learning more about our collections and updating the website. Does this record contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? Contact us here.

Please note that this particular artwork might not be on view when you visit. Don’t worry—we have plenty of exhibitions for you to explore.