An exceptional gift from Barbara Duthuit and a historic gesture for the Nice Matisse Museum, which is welcoming a painted work into its collections for the first time since 1963.
Barbara Duthuit, widow of Henri Matisse’s grandson Claude Duthuit, is continuing her family’s generosity towards the museum by donating the painting Nature morte à la statuette africaine (Still Life with African Statuette) (1907), from the artist’s personal collection, to the Ville de Nice. The gift marks a new chapter in the museum’s history, as it celebrates the first time since 1963 that a painted work has entered the collections, strengthening the institution’s position as a centre of reference for the study of Henri Matisse’s work.
Created at a pivotal time in the painter’s career, this canvas is of significant interest to the Matisse Museum collection and a valuable addition for French museums.
The painting complements the museum’s extensive collection of still lifes, as well as depicting objects that are now part of the collection.
Unique in Matisse’s oeuvre, Still Life with African Statuette is also a rare example of the appearance of African art in his work (the sculpture represented in the still life is the Vili Congo statuette that Matisse bought in October 1906). Its format, its workmanship (the particular way in which it uses the white of the canvas) and its colour (red in particular) create a new two-dimensional space in the artist’s work, characteristic of the decorative style.
The City of Nice, the French Ministry of Culture (whose Regional Scientific Commission for Acquisitions (CSRA) at the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Regional Department of Cultural Affairs emphasised the exceptional nature of the gift) and the French customs authorities – in particular the Paris and Nice offices – worked diligently to ensure the success of this project.
Still Life with African Statuette is now listed in the “Musées de France” inventory under number 25.4.1.