HENRI MATISSE | Femme assise, les bras levées

Estate of the artist
Jeffrey H. Loria & Co., New York
Private Collection, New York (acquired from the above in 1994)
Acquired from the above

This work is in excellent condition. Executed on cream laid paper. All four edges of the sheet are deckled. The sheet has been t-hinged at two places along the top edge. The sheet is slightly time-stained around the perimeter, due to the presence of a window mat; This is not visible when the work is framed. There are artist's pinholes to the upper left and lower left corners, as well as extremely minor pindot foxing throughout .
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.

Completed in 1924, Femme assise, les bras levées is a charcoal study for several prints and paintings Matisse executed of Henriette, the longest serving model of the artist’s Nice period. This drawing captures the relaxation, sensuousness and intimacy that characterizes Matisse’s Nice-period works. While many of these works involved rich, intricate interiors, Matisse’s focus was always on the model, as the present drawing reveals. Discussing the works from the Nice period, Matisse wrote: "My models, human figures, are never just 'extras' in an interior. They are the principal theme in my work. I depend entirely on my model, whom I observe at liberty, and then I decide on the pose which best suits her nature. When I take a new model, I intuit the pose that will best suit her from her un-self-conscious attitudes of repose, and then I become the slave of that pose. I often keep those girls several years, until my interest is exhausted. My plastic signs probably express their souls (a word I dislike), which interests me subconsciously, or what else is there? Their forms are not always perfect, but they are expressive. The emotional interest aroused in me by them does not appear particularly in the representation of their bodies, but often rather in the lines or the special values distributed over the whole canvas or paper, which form its complete orchestration, its architecture. But not everyone perceives this. It is perhaps sublimated sensual pleasure, which may not yet be perceived by everyone" (quoted in Ernst Gerhard Güse, Henri Matisse, Drawings and Sculpture, Munich, 1991, p. 22).



The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Wanda de Guébriant.