Henri Matisse

Lionel Prejger, France (acquired by 1980)
Sale: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, March 6, 1985
Private Collection, London (acquired at the above sale and sold: Sotheby's, London, December 5, 1985, lot 648)
Acquired at the above sale by A. Alfred Taubman

Executed on cream laid paper, not laid down. The sheet is hinged to the mount on the verso of the upper corners. Artist pinholes in each of the corners. The edges are irregular and deckled. The sheet is lightly undulating. Some flattened creases and minor skimming to the sheet along the center and right lower edge. The sheet is lightly time darkened and there are a few very faint spots of foxing in the upper right quadrant. This 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.

Drawing took on a new significance in Matisse’s oeuvre throughout the later decades of his career. He remarked that drawing, for him, did "not depend on forms being copied exactly as they are in nature or on the patient assembling of exact details, but on the profound feeling of the artist before the objects that he has chosen, on which his attention is focused, and whose spirit he has penetrated" (quoted in Jack Flam, ed., Matisse on Art, Berkeley, 1995, p. 179).

A wonderful example of Matisse’s mature drawing style of the 1930s and 40s, Femme au fauteuil is the combination of vigorous, boldly sketched lines infused with areas of sensuously blended charcoal. His mastery of the estompe technique—the obscuring of charcoal with a stump eraser or even a finger to allow for a wider range of tonal variation—helped to free Matisse from the rigors of strict representation. Through the use of the medium he was able to create a looser physicality that became more an expression of feeling than naturalistic representation. In the present work the smoky shadows, particularly along the outside edges of the sitter’s legs, create subtle variations of light and shade. The delicate modeling of the figure skillfully balances with the bold, emphatic lines of the figures body, which fills the sheet.