Painted in 1920, the freshness and warmth of Deux peches belies the fact that it was actually the frequently bad weather which forced Matisse to abandon painting the cliffs and beaches around the Norman fishing village of Etretat, and turn to depicting interiors and still-lifes instead. Matisse's summer in Etretat in 1920 marked an important juncture in his art. It was at this time that the artistic 'Call to Order', a reaction to the chaos of the First World War, was being answered by many contemporary artists. Courbet and Ingres were replacing Gauguin, van Gogh and Cezanne as primary influences to the former avant-garde. The portraits Matisse painted during his stay at Etretat certainly show the influence of Ingres. However, his landscapes and still-lifes were more influenced by Courbet. Deux peches reveals Matisse's renewed appreciation of more traditional, subtle gradations of tone, rather than his former focus on loud colouration. This painting is thus reminiscent of paintings by older masters like Chardin and Courbet. Indeed, the impastoof this work is practically a homage to the latter. Matisse did not renounce his past heroes to the same extent as his contemporaries in responding to the 'Call to Order', and so despite the great lightness of Deux peches, the sense of volume still smacks of Cezanne.
Matisse's distinct retention of avant-garde influences in his 'Call to Order' is reflected in the harmony between the yellow of the peach on the left and that of the table-top - his new interest in tonality by no means necessitated any renunciation of his mastery of colour. Matisse deliberately plays the bright colours off each other, one red of the peach gently echoed in the other. The white and green of plant and paper at the top provide both visual relief and vivid contrast to the dominant reds and yellows. These colours are imbued with extra intensity by their containment: the canvas is compact, the table shown from close-up. No background is visible at all. The composition has been masterminded to place the viewer's entire focus on the fruit. The deliberately distorted angle of view punctures the suspension of disbelief traditionally associated with art and representation, therefore linking Deux peches to Matisse's contemporaneous Nice paintings. The peaches have been shown as they would be seen by the artist looking down at the table, an impossible angle when the picture is vertical. Matisse is expressly invoking the artifice of his art. Despite the outstanding results of his works from this period, Matisse abandoned his 'Call to Order1 in 1921, finding its scope too limiting and his Nice style more promising. Deux peches perfectly encapsulates the warm poetry of this brief, yet invaluable, phase in his career.