The Boat (Matisse)

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(Redirected from Le Bateau)
The Boat
ArtistHenri Matisse
Year1953
TypePaper-cut
Dimensions13.84 cm × 10.33 cm (5.4 in × 4.1 in)
LocationNew York, Museum of Modern Art

The Boat (French: Le Bateau) is a paper-cut from 1953 by Henri Matisse. The picture is composed from pieces of paper cut out of sheets painted with gouache, and was created during the last years of Matisse's life.

History[edit]

Le Bateau caused a minor stir when the Museum of Modern Art, New York, which housed it, hung the work upside-down for 47 days in 1961 until Genevieve Habert, a stockbroker, noticed the mistake and notified a guard. Habert later informed The New York Times, which in turn notified Monroe Wheeler, the museum's art director. As a result, the artwork was rehung properly. An assistant curator blamed the confusion on a label on the verso posted the wrong way, as well as screw holes which implied it had been hung upside down before.[1][2][3]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Robertson, Nan. "Modern Museum Is Startled by Matisse Picture" The New York Times, December 5, 1961
  2. ^ Robertson, Nan (Dec 4, 2019). "Modern Museum Is Startled by Matisse Picture". The New York Times Archives.
  3. ^ "MoMA Hung Matisse Gouache Painting Upside Down for 47 Days" Masterworks Fine Art, September 19, 2018