The Dance II by Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...

 is a triptych

Triptych

A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...

 mural

Mural

A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...

 (15 ft high by 45 ft long) in the Barnes Foundation of Philadelphia

Barnes Foundation of Philadelphia

The Barnes Foundation is an American educational art and horticultural institution in Lower Merion, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1922 by Albert C...

. It was created in 1932 at the request of Albert C. Barnes

Albert C. Barnes

Albert Coombs Barnes was an American chemist and art collector. With the fortune made from the development of the antiseptic, anti-blindness drug Argyrol, he founded the Barnes Foundation, an educational institution based on his private collection of art...

after he met Matisse in the United States. Barnes was an art enthusiast and long-time collector of Matisse's works. The mural was to be placed above three arches spanning the windows of the main hall of Barnes' gallery. In Nice, France, Matisse executed the mural on canvas provided by Barnes, as opposed to working on site—an unusual approach for such a work, but the patron had offered him complete artistic freedom.