Henri Matisse's Great Leap Forward

Flowers and Ceramic Plate, 1913
An apparently simple still life of a pot of nasturtiums, a small sheet of paper and a decorative ceramic plate that seems to float incongruously above the other two objects, this painting manages nevertheless to maintain a certain degree of ambiguity. Using different approaches to suggest depth and balance and the contrast of light and shadow, the artist records a fleeting visual impression of a small corner of the world, probably re-imagined from objects in his studio, evoking its changes as the light of day transforms the objects and the areas around them.

• Article: Great Leap Forward