Henri Matisse

Private Collection, Paris
Sale: Sotheby's, London, April 22, 1971, lot 52a
Private Collection (acquired at the above sale)
Private Collection, Paris

Liège, Association pour le progrès intellectuel et artistique pour la Wallonie; Rio de Janeiro; Buenos Aires, Henri Matisse (49 dessins), 1947
Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Henri Matisse. Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, 1948
Louisville, G. B. Speed Art Museum; Beverly Hills, Modern Institute of Art; San Francisco, San Francisco Museum of Art; Minneapolis, Minneapolis Institute of Art; Washington, Phillips Memorial Art Gallery; Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago;  Cincinnati, Modern Art Society; Baltimore, Baltimore Museum of Art; Dayton, Dayton Art Institute, Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art; Cambridge, Fogg Art Museum, Matisse Drawings, 1948-49, no. 40

Executed on cream wove paper. Sheet is affixed to mount at corners and in several places around edges, on verso. Artist's pinholes at upper corners. Very faint mat stain around extreme perimeter of sheet. A few scattered tiny surface stains, mostly around extreme edges. Line is very strong. Overall work is in very 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.

The present work exemplifies Matisse's line drawings, an approach the artist championed as perhaps his most powerful.  Portrait de Femme corresponds with Matisse's renewed interest in broadly-rendered ink drawings, which was not a part of his oeuvre between his Fauve period and the early 1940s.  These works equaled his charcoal drawings of the same period and were particular favorites of Matisse.  He writes, "my line drawing is the purest and most direct translation of my emotion.  The simplification of the medium allows for that" (John Elderfield, The Drawings of Matisse, London, 1984, p. 15).

 

Executed near the end of his life, Portrait de Femme simply and elegantly depicts the outline of the human form through exclusive use of the contour line.  The work is closely related to Matisse's brush-drawings of the late 1940s that were reminiscent of the ancient art of calligraphy and possessed a refined sense of overall design.  Pierre Schneider finds Matisse's late drawings as impressive as Matisse's most well-known works, noting, "these large dazzling black and white sheets of paper are Matisse's last paintings" (Pierre Schneider, Matisse, New York, 1984, p. 652-54).