Henri Matisse

Jacques Dubourg, Paris (and sold: Palais Galliera, Paris, June 28, 1962, lot 222)
Heinz Berggruen, Paris (acquired at the above sale)
B.C. Holland Gallery, Chicago (acquired from the above)
Acquired from the above on December 21, 1966

Executed on cream colored laid paper. The edges are reinforced on the verso with tape. The edges of the sheet are deckled. There are artist's pinholes at all four corners. The edges of the sheet are stained and overall there is some slight time darkening to the sheet as well as scatted fox marks. Overall the work is in good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

In 1917, Matisse relocated from Paris to Nice, where he was to produce some of the most iconic works of his career. With the ocean often visible through an open window, Matisse chose to portray his models mainly indoors. In this more intimate setting, Matisse was able to focus on human expressions and to articulate emotions. Portrait de Henriette jouant au piano is an excellent example from this period and charmingly represents the character of Henriette, one of his favorite sitters. Rendered here in profile, Henriette fills the composition with her presence and, captured in the same swift charcoal strokes as the piano, seems lyrically and dramatically at one with her instrument.

Matisse began to work in charcoal and estompe in 1922 in an effort to explore, in John Elderfield’s words, the “synthesis of form and light.” These charcoal studies dominate the years from 1922 to 1924 in Matisse’s oeuvre. Elderfield writes, “This particular medium allowed him, he said, ‘to consider simultaneously the character of the model, the human expression, the quality of surrounding light, atmosphere and all that can only be expressed by drawing.’ Both media were particularly suited to investigate how tonal modelling could be reconciled with his long standing concern for the decorative flatness of the picture surface. They permitted him to create an extraordinarily wide range of soft, closely graded tones, ranging from transparent, aerated greys to dense and sooty blacks, that appear to adhere to the flatness of the sheet, and to release especially subtle effects of light from the luminous whiteness of the paper” (John Elderfield, The Drawings of Henri Matisse, London, 1984, pp. 84-85).