Matisse referred to his extensive collection of textiles as his ‘working library’. This collection of ‘noble rags’ had humble beginnings but gradually expanded to include costumes, carpets, wall hangings and bark cloths, both found in Paris and brought back from his travels. The most influential of all was a length of toile spotted by the young Matisse from the top of a Paris bus and purchased for centimes. This pattern of flower baskets appears throughout his work, translated into various colors and various scales. Fragments of the fabric are still in the family collections today.
Les coucous,tapis bleu et rose, oil on canvas, 1911
© 2012 Succession H. Matisse/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: The Bridgeman Art Library.