Warren Brandt, an American painter originally influenced by Abstract Expressionism, became a "child of Matisse" around 1966-67 by adopting the realist mode of the French artist without becoming illusionistic. Beginning in the 1970s, his still lifes--like those of Matisse--favored design, high color, pattern, and an emphasis on the "good things" of the "good life." In Papaya and Mexican Pitcher from 1981, Brandt employs a Matissean use of color and patternmaking devices that enhance the decorative nature of the work. The Mexican textile that serves as a tablecloth is the most obvious pattern in the still life and serves to flatten the picture plane, establishing a decorative surface. The two shades of blue in the background, along with the equal weight of the papaya and bowl of fruit on the left and right respectively, and the Mexican pitcher in the middle form four decorative quadrants in the picture. The curved lines of the fruit, their containers, and the pitcher all create subtle patterns throughout the work.