Early 20th-Century Paintings

Modern painting in all its variety, from city realism to the first abstractions.

1900–1949. 50 paintings here, dated 1899 to 1936, with works by John Singer Sargent, Piet Mondrian, Henri Matisse and Wassily Kandinsky. They suit the living room, bedroom and guest room most often.

Also from this period, with too few works here for a page of their own:

Art Nouveau (3)
Fauvism (4)
Cubism (5)
Early Abstraction (8)

Showing 1 to 48 of 50 paintings

Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000), Gustav Klimt, 1912–13, oil on canvas

Gustav Klimt Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000), 1912–13 The Met

Still life of geranium plant, fruit, water pitcher, and two cats.

Henri Matisse Still Life with Geranium, 1906 Art Institute of Chicago

A square white tile, rotated 90 degrees, crossed by black lines intersecting at 90-degree angles. A few of the shapes thus formed—some partial squares, some rectangles—are colored in a single shade of yellow, blue, black, or red.

Piet Mondrian Lozenge Composition with Yellow, Black, Blue, Red, and Gray, 1921 Art Institute of Chicago

Abstract painting in various bright colors—yellow, blue, red, green, orange, pink—with lines indicating building-like structures as well as canons in the lower right corner.

Wassily Kandinsky Improvisation No. 30 (Cannons), 1913 Art Institute of Chicago

Painting of woman, arms crossed on brown desk, staring at goldfish.

Henri Matisse Woman before an Aquarium, 1921–23 Art Institute of Chicago

Painting of a cabin set below a dark blue sky and fluffy white clouds. Behind it is a field of many small white dots. In front, a dark-skinned woman sits and a dark-skinned child plays among roaming chickens and dogs in a fenced-in yard.

Horace Pippin Cabin in the Cotton, c. 1931–37 Art Institute of Chicago

A multitude of vibrantly colored shapes interweave with one another.

Marsden Hartley Movement, 1913 Art Institute of Chicago

Apples, Henri Matisse, 1916, oil on canvas

Henri Matisse Apples, 1916 Art Institute of Chicago

Vibrant yellow, red, blue, and green painting of landscape with trees and mountains.

Wassily Kandinsky Landscape with Two Poplars, 1912 Art Institute of Chicago

Vibrant colored painting of beachscape with figures, structure, and ox pulled cart.

Wassily Kandinsky Painting with Troika, January 18, 1911 Art Institute of Chicago

Field with Young Trees in the Foreground, Piet Mondrian, c. 1907, oil on paper laid on board

Piet Mondrian Field with Young Trees in the Foreground, c. 1907 Cleveland Museum of Art

Alpine Pool, John Singer Sargent, 1907, oil on canvas

John Singer Sargent Alpine Pool, 1907 The Met

Brook and Meadow, John Singer Sargent, ca. 1907, watercolor, gouache, and graphite on white wove paper

John Singer Sargent Brook and Meadow, ca. 1907 The Met

Camouflaged Field in France, John Singer Sargent, 1918, watercolor, gouache, graphite, and wax crayon on white wove paper

John Singer Sargent Camouflaged Field in France, 1918 The Met

Man and Pool, Florida, John Singer Sargent, 1917, watercolor, gouache, and graphite on white wove paper

John Singer Sargent Man and Pool, Florida, 1917 The Met

Figure in Hammock, Florida, John Singer Sargent, 1917, watercolor, gouache, and graphite on white wove paper

John Singer Sargent Figure in Hammock, Florida, 1917 The Met

Green Door, Santa Maria della Salute, John Singer Sargent, ca. 1904, watercolor, graphite, gouache, and wax crayon on white wove paper

John Singer Sargent Green Door, Santa Maria della Salute, ca. 1904 The Met

Open Valley, Dolomites, John Singer Sargent, ca. 1913–14, watercolor and gouache on white wove paper

John Singer Sargent Open Valley, Dolomites, ca. 1913–14 The Met

Padre Sebastiano, John Singer Sargent, ca. 1904–6, oil on canvas

John Singer Sargent Padre Sebastiano, ca. 1904–6 The Met

Sunset at Sea, John Singer Sargent, 1905–6 (?) or 1905–?6, watercolor and gouache on white wove paper

John Singer Sargent Sunset at Sea, 1905–6 (?) or 1905–?6 The Met

Stream and Rocks, John Singer Sargent, ca. 1901–8, watercolor, gouache, and graphite on white wove paper

John Singer Sargent Stream and Rocks, ca. 1901–8 The Met

Venetian Passageway, John Singer Sargent, ca. 1905, watercolor, gouache, and graphite on white wove paper

John Singer Sargent Venetian Passageway, ca. 1905 The Met

The Hermit (Il solitario), John Singer Sargent, 1908, oil on canvas

John Singer Sargent The Hermit (Il solitario), 1908 The Met

Woman on Rose Divan, Henri Matisse, 1921, oil on canvas

Henri Matisse Woman on Rose Divan, 1921 Art Institute of Chicago

From Ávila, John Singer Sargent, ca. 1903, watercolor and gouache on white wove paper

John Singer Sargent From Ávila, ca. 1903 The Met

Boboli Garden, Florence, John Singer Sargent, ca. 1906–7, watercolor, gouache, and graphite on white wove paper, mounted on board

John Singer Sargent Boboli Garden, Florence, ca. 1906–7 The Met

Sellar Alp, Dolomites, John Singer Sargent, ca. 1913–14, watercolor and gouache on white wove paper

John Singer Sargent Sellar Alp, Dolomites, ca. 1913–14 The Met

Sunset, John Singer Sargent, 1905–6, watercolor, gouache, and graphite on white wove paper

John Singer Sargent Sunset, 1905–6 The Met

Treetops against Sky, John Singer Sargent, 1909–13, watercolor and gouache on white wove paper

John Singer Sargent Treetops against Sky, 1909–13 The Met

A baby nestles in a mass of frilly white fabric atop a colorful patchwork, perhaps a pile of quilts, against a sage and spring-green background in this square painting.

Gustav Klimt Baby (Cradle), 1917/1918 National Gallery of Art

Rushing Water, John Singer Sargent, ca. 1901–7, watercolor, gouache, and graphite on white wove paper

John Singer Sargent Rushing Water, ca. 1901–7 The Met

Abstract line composition of black lines at right angles forming quadrants including a gray square at upper left and a gray rectangle and red rectangle at lower right, against a white background.

Piet Mondrian Composition (No. 1) Gray-Red, 1935 Art Institute of Chicago

Composition with Red, Yellow, and Blue, Piet Mondrian, 1927, oil on canvas

Piet Mondrian Composition with Red, Yellow, and Blue, 1927 Cleveland Museum of Art

Farm near Duivendrecht, Piet Mondrian, c. 1916, oil on canvas

Piet Mondrian Farm near Duivendrecht, c. 1916 Art Institute of Chicago

Under the Cypress Trees at Corfu, John Singer Sargent, 1909, oil on canvas

John Singer Sargent Under the Cypress Trees at Corfu, 1909 Art Institute of Chicago

Painting of vibrantly colored shapes and lines intersecting and overlapping.

Wassily Kandinsky Painting with Green Center, 1913 Art Institute of Chicago

Moonlight, Strandgade 30, Vilhelm Hammershøi, 1900–1906, oil on canvas

Vilhelm Hammershøi Moonlight, Strandgade 30, 1900–1906 The Met

We look down onto a pile with a newspaper, theater program, pipe, a black and white checkerboard, and other objects painted as abstracted, geometric forms on a tabletop in this nearly square still life painting.

Juan Gris Fantômas, 1915 National Gallery of Art

Irregular, geometric shapes in burnt orange, pale peach, light blue, forest and mint green, brown, taupe, gray, and black are layered and spread across this horizontal, abstract painting. They are mostly flat planes of color.

Juan Gris Glass and Checkerboard, c. 1917 National Gallery of Art

Pansies, Henri Fantin-Latour, 1903, oil on canvas

Henri Fantin-Latour Pansies, 1903 The Met

Self-Portrait at Spurveskjul, Vilhelm Hammershøi, 1911, oil on canvas

Vilhelm Hammershøi Self-Portrait at Spurveskjul, 1911 The Met

We look down at a wooden tabletop with two playing cards among stacked rectangles and wedges in this vertical, abstract painting. The two playing cards we can make out are a four of diamonds to our left and an ace of clubs to our right.

Juan Gris Ace of Clubs and Four of Diamonds, 1915 National Gallery of Art

Chrysanthemum, Piet Mondrian, 1906–42, oil on canvas

Piet Mondrian Chrysanthemum, 1906–42 Cleveland Museum of Art

Serena Pulitzer Lederer (1867–1943), Gustav Klimt, 1899, oil on canvas

Gustav Klimt Serena Pulitzer Lederer (1867–1943), 1899 The Met

Mottled, geometric shapes painted in shades of peanut brown, beige, grass and spruce green, smoky gray, golden and buttercup yellow, and topaz and lapis blue are arranged across this wide, horizontal, abstract painting.

Roger de La Fresnaye The Watering Can (Emblems: The Garden), 1913 National Gallery of Art

Cylindrical, C-shaped, and triangular forms are painted with flat areas of vivid pink, purple, navy, royal, and light blue, turquoise, white, black, and gray in this abstract, horizontal painting.

Patrick Henry Bruce Peinture/Nature Morte, c. 1924 National Gallery of Art

The painting depicts a rocky coastline dotted with color. The horizon is high in the scene, and a strip of pale-yellow sky is visible at the very top of the painting.

Henry Golden Dearth Flecks of Foam, c. 1911/1912 National Gallery of Art

This is a painting of a pastoral scene with animals, a watermill, and a bridge. The artwork features a rural landscape with lush greenery and a serene setting.

Charles Georges Dufresne Judgment of Paris, 1925 National Gallery of Art

Rooms these paintings suit