Interior in Yellow by Henri Matisse Canvas Print

Interior in Yellow by Henri Matisse Canvas PrintSeen beside warm oak, the still life loses nostalgia and gains grit. Matisse's late period composition keeps a yellow room and a blue room in conversation, with lemons, a patterned vase and quick black outlines holding it all together. Once it's up, the room reads brighter and more decisive. Walls feel less flat, soft furnishings pick up the yellow, and a single blue cushion suddenly makes sense. It earns its keep in a dining room above a sideboard,

the coral poppies pick up anything terracotta

It loves company: a gingham runner

not busier

so it suits narrower walls between a door and a bookshelf

or a small bed

Even the plaster in here starts looking expensive next to soft peach

Skip pairing it with anything else this busy — give it space

So does sitting it slightly higher above low furniture

Pair it with velvet or warm upholstery

while the warm orange poppy holds the centre of the picture without pushing

Skip it next to other strong typography or busy graphic prints — it does the talking

linen bedding and a houseplant or two