Henri Matisse

Mackler Gallery, Philadelphia
Private collection, Philadelphia
Sale: Freeman's, Philadephia, 4th May 2014, lot 13
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down, intermittently attached to the mount and floating in the mount. The edges are deckled. There is a pinhole to each of the upper corners. There are a few tiny nicks in places to the extreme edges. There are very light paper skinning towards the centre of the right edge (only visible under racking light). This work is in very good original 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."

Odalisque étendue dates from what the American’s call Matisse’s first Nice period (1917-1938), not without a play on words (it is important to remember that Pierre Matisse opened his gallery in New York in 1925 and that Matisse received the Carnegie Prize in 1927).

This ink drawing is part of the Odalisques series, painted in Matisse’s improvised studio at the Hôtel de la Méditerranée in Nice where he created an evocative and stimulating oriental décor : “The painter’s artistic imagination liked to awaken to the sound of this chamber music composed of one or two figures (“figurantes” would be more precise ) in an interior. If their nudity exalts him, he bitterly likes to decorate them with ornaments – scarves, mantillas, strange hairdos, trousers that match their skin – and to dress them in a certain oriental luxury. There is a touch of the Oriental indeed in this man from the North. It is as a true egoist that he appropriates these living creatures conceived of almost as objects that he observes, less for themselves than for the demonstration and visual pleasure that he wished to draw for them as a pretext in order to affirm himself.” (Raymond Escholier, Matisse. Ce vivant, Paris, 1956, p.124).

Although drawn without trace of austerity, decorated with patterns which were soon to become essential (observe for example the stylized flowers of the model’s blouse), Odalisque étendue is different from previous drawings in its sketching and assertiveness characteristic of the way in which Matisse worked and mentally drew line at the end of the 1930s: “These drawings are always preceded by studies made with a medium less rigorous than the line, with charcoal for example or shading, which means that the character of the model, her human expression can be considered simultaneously with the quality of light that surrounds her, her atmosphere, and everything that cannot be expressed by drawing. And it is only when I have the feeling of being exhausted by this work, which can last for several sessions, that my mind clears and I can let my pen flow with confidence.” (quoted in Pierre Schneider, Matisse, Paris, 1984, p.578).