Vase of Sunflowers

Painted in 1898 and held in the Hermitage, 'Vase of Sunflowers' is an early floral still life that shows Matisse already bringing considerable energy and colour confidence to a subject he would explore throughout his career. Sunflowers had become a charged subject in European art following Van Gogh's celebrated series of the late 1880s, and Matisse's engagement with them inevitably invites comparison. However, his treatment follows a different logic — less the emotional intensity of Van Gogh's approach, more a careful investigation of how a warm, strongly coloured subject can be organised in relation to its container and the surrounding space. By 1898 Matisse was still developing his individual style under the influence of Cézanne and the Impressionists, and this sunflower painting shows the transitional quality of his work at this stage.

The sunflower heads provide strong warm yellow and orange colour masses that Matisse organises against a cooler background. The handling is more descriptive than his later floral work, the individual petals and centres given more attention. The vase or container grounds the composition vertically.