Henri Matisse

L.A. Louver Gallery
Private Collection, United States

In very good condition, executed on cream wove paper. The work has a deckle edge and it is hinged with glue to the mat at upper corners. There is a very faint stain visible in figure’s feet. Along the sheets’ top edge (in an area approximately ¼ inches in width), the sheet appears to be slightly lighter in tone, perhaps due to prior mounting. The two upper corners have small losses to the sheet. Verso: there is some old tape and tape residue visible along the top edge on the verso; and there are several ink stamps from the artist’s estate also visible near upper left, with the water mark PM Fabriano (Italy) visible at lower right. The line is strong and the sheet tone is fresh
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.

Matisse continuously returned to the study of the female form and devoted numerous compositions to capturing the essence of female sensuality through his spare use of line. Nu dans l'atelier is set in the artist's studio, and the unusual perspective of the work allows Matisse to set up an interesting juxtaposition between the model reclining on a bed and the artist's rendering of her elongated form. The patterned fabric as well as the curves and contours of the female body were two of Matisse's principal aesthetic preoccupations in his drawing.

Following the completion of his masterpiece Nu rose or Grand nu couché (now in the Baltimore Museum of Art) in October 1935, Matisse spent the end of that year working on a series of pencil and ink drawings on the theme of a reclining female nude. The model in many of these works was a Russian émigré Lydia Delectorskaya, who had recently started working for the artist, and who would become Matisse's muse and devoted assistant, always present in his studio until his death in 1954.

Matisse often spoke of how the act of drawing was integral to his approach to oil painting, but it is important to realize that his compositions in pen and ink are complete works in their own right.  Matisse clearly took joy in exploring the pictorial possibilities offered to him by the combination of his two favourite motifs – the beautiful body of his young model and the patterns provided by the interior setting.