Three Sisters with an African Sculpture (Les Trois soeurs à la sculpture africaine)

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

The three works on this wall form a group of three paintings, known as a triptych. Although the group is commonly called the "Three Sisters Triptych," it is likely that only two sisters served as models for all nine figures in the paintings—an Italian woman named Laurette and her sister Anna. The descending height arrangement of standing and seated figures in this work mirrors the ascending one of Three Sisters and "The Rose Marble Table" ; these two paintings, in turn, frame the triangular composition of Three Sisters with Grey Background. The sculpture in the background is a Bambara female figure from Mali that was likely in Matisse's personal collection. Paired with the Moroccan table in the foreground, the objects speak to the global artistic traditions that inspired the artist.

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