Henri Matisse: La Danse (Barnes Mural), 1933 – Porcelain Art Mug

Between 1930 and 1933, Henri Matisse undertook his most ambitious single commission: three enormous panels for the Barnes Foundation in Merion, Pennsylvania, depicting dancing figures in a monumental architectural setting. Albert C. Barnes had commissioned the work to occupy the lunettes above the main hall of his museum — irregular arched spaces that forced Matisse to reinvent his approach entirely. The first version, now at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, was abandoned when Matisse discovered he had worked to the wrong dimensions; the final version, delivered to the Barnes Foundation in 1933 and installed in 1935, was the largest painting Matisse had ever made.

The Barnes Dance — as it has come to be called informally — marks a decisive shift in Matisse's work toward a more austere, architectural style. The figures are simplified to the point of becoming near-geometric, the palette reduced to pink, blue, grey, and black. The three linked panels create a single continuous composition of extraordinary rhythm and power, designed to be experienced in relation to the architecture rather than as an easel painting encountered at close range.

Fine porcelain, 10 oz — 104 mm high, 75 mm across the base. The image runs around the body; handle and rim stay white. Dishwasher and microwave safe.

From the same series: La Gerbe, 1953 · Icarus, 1947 · Self-Portrait, 1930 · The Snail, 1953 · Blue Nude II, 1952 · Nuit de Noël, 1952 · Les Velours, 1947 · La Danse, 1909

Henri Matisse, The Dance, Barnes Foundation mural, 1930–33. Public domain in Switzerland, the EU and the United Kingdom; Matisse died in 1954. This mug is not sold into the United States. Matisse's name identifies the historical artwork; it does not suggest endorsement or affiliation.

Selected by Dr. Walther Fuchs for the Tazzarte collection.