AMSTERDAM.- The Van Gogh Museum has acquired its first work by Henri Matisse (1869–1954), achieving a long-standing ambition to expand its collection of artists directly inspired by Van Gogh with a Matisse.


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Olive Grove in Collioure (1905) will be presented in the museum alongside a reed pen drawing by Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890). Matisse was directly influenced by Van Gogh’s expressive colours, as well as by his dynamic drawing style.

Linework and vivid colours

Matisse made Olive Grove in Collioure in 1905 during his first summer in the Southern French town, where he painted many significant works. Matisse shared Van Gogh’s fascination with the sun-drenched Mediterranean landscape; he used vivid and unmixed colours to capture the shimmering summer light.

Much of the canvas in Olive Grove in Collioure remains unpainted, and Matisse deliberately left drawn lines visible. This interplay of lines directs the viewer to the figure in the middle: Matisse’s wife, who walks towards the painter holding a bright red parasol.

Matisse added a jumble of colourful individual brushstrokes to the drawn lines, creating a dynamic scene with a sense of immediacy. His approach is reminiscent of how Van Gogh constructed his reed pen drawings on paper: with short strokes in various directions.

Matisse owned three reed pen drawings by Van Gogh, which highlights the depth of his admiration for the artist’s work. Olive Grove in Collioure is a powerful early example of Matisse’s expressive use of colour and his new way of painting, which later became known as Fauvism.

Lisa Smit, Curator of Paintings at the Van Gogh Museum, on the work: ‘The painting is unadorned, yet the colours are so dazzling that it’s like an explosion of confetti. A Fauvist painting by Matisse is vital to effectively show the distinct influence of Van Gogh on the generation of artists that came after him. This acquisition allows the museum to fill a significant gap in its collection.’

Van Gogh as a source of inspiration

The Van Gogh Museum displays Van Gogh’s masterpieces together with art from his time. His work is presented alongside important paintings by his sources of inspiration and contemporaries, but the museum also explores his influence on the generations that followed him.

Van Gogh was a major influence on the Fauvists, who embraced bold colours and expressive brushwork to explore the emotional power of colour from 1905 onwards. Matisse was a pioneering force in this movement. His Olive Grove in Collioure will have a lasting place on the third floor of the Van Gogh Museum’s permanent collection, in the gallery with work by artists who were directly inspired by Van Gogh in the early 20th century.

Olive Grove in Collioure was purchased with support from the VriendenLoterij, the Mondriaan Fund (the public fund supporting the visual arts and cultural heritage), the Rembrandt Association (with the additional support from its Van Rijn Fonds, its Liesbeth van Dorp Fonds, its Fabritius Fonds and its Claude Monet Fonds) and the members of the Yellow House Circle.



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