Henri Matisse

Galerie Maeght, Paris
Private Collection, Paris
Marc Blondeau, Geneva
Stephen Mazoh, New York
Vivian Horan Fine Art, New York
Private Collection, New York (acquired from the above; sale: Sotheby's, New York, 3rd May 2005, lot 33)
Purchased at the above sale by the late owner

New York, C&M Arts, Henri Matisse, A Survey of Drawings, 1996, no. 10
Munich, Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Das Ewige Auge - Von Rembrandt bis Picasso. Meisterwerke der Sammlung Jan Krugier und Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski, 2007, no. 154, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down, attached to the mount at all four corners, and floating in the overmount. The sheet is slightly time stained and there is some staining visible along all four extreme edges. There is a pinhole to each of the four corners and one to the centre of the upper edge. There are two small horizontal creases to the centre of the right edge and a tiny paper loss under the h of the signature. There is a very small crease to the right side of the lower edge with some paper rubbing to the right of the calf and neck of the figure, most probably as a result of the artist's process. Otherwise this work is in overall 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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Throughout his life, Matisse focused on the female nude in his paintings, drawings and sculptures. This work, completed a few years before his death, is an interpretation of his favorite subject in a remarkably classical yet expressive style, created at the same time that he was executing his radically abstract cut-outs. This work is one of several simple studies of the nude that Matisse completed towards the end of his life. In all of them, he emphasises the basic principles of draftsmanship, exalting the beauty of the curvature and strength of the body. It is rather poignant that depictions of a healthy young woman would appeal to the artist at this point in his life, when he was confined mostly to his sick bed or his wheelchair.

We can see from this drawing that the principles Matisse championed in his early career still held true at the end of his life, as evidenced by the striking similarity - in the execution and depiction of the female figure - between the present work and his master painting Baigneuses à la rivière painted 1909-1917. In a lecture in 1908 to a class of young artists, he had given the following advice: ‘Draw your large masses first. The lines between abdomen and thigh may have to be exaggerated to give decision to the form of an upright pose. The openings may be serviceable as correctives. Remember, a line cannot exist alone; it always brings a companion along. Do remember that one line does nothing; it is only a relation to another that creates a volume’ (Matisse speaks to his students, 1908: Notes by Sarah Stein, reprinted in Alfred H. Barr, Matisse, His Art and His Public, New York, 1951, p. 551).