HENRI MATISSE | Mademoiselle Yvonne Landsberg

Family of the artist
Private Collection (acquired directly from the above in 1978 and sold: Christie's, New York, May 10, 2001, lot 111)
Acquired at the above sale

London, Hayward Gallery & New York, The Museum of Modern Art, The Drawings of Henri Matisse, 1984-85, no. 31, illustrated in the catalogue
Sydney, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Michelangelo to Matisse, Drawing the Figure, 1990-2000, no. 171, illustrated in the catalogue

Jack D. Flam, Matisse: The Man and His Art, 1869-1918, Ithaca, 1986, no. 390, illustrated p. 391

The work is in very good condition. Executed on thick cream wove paper. The sheet has been slightly time stained. There is staining to all four edges of the recto caused by mounting, which are not visible in its matte. There is a line of discoloration running horizontally across the paper approximately 1 inch from the bottom. There are a few minor spots of foxing in the background which do not affect the integrity of the image.
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.

A superb example of Matisse's skill as a draughtsman, this delicate portrait of Yvonne Landsberg was completed in July 1914, mere weeks before the outbreak of World War I. Somber in mood and emphatically modern in its stylization of the human figure, the work illustrates Matisse's transition from a joyful Fauve concerned primarily with color to one influenced by Cubism and affected by political discord.

The Landsbergs were a wealthy family of Brazilian ex-patriots living in Paris at the time. Yvonne's brother, an admirer of Matisse's work and a friend of the artist, commissioned a drawing of Yvonne Landsberg in the spring of 1914. Over the subsequent weeks, Yvonne was a frequent sitter for Matisse, whose exploration of his subject culminated in a large oil portrait, one of the artist's most daring and radical work of this period (see fig. 1). The Landsberg family departed Paris for Brazil in August 1914, as the specter of armed conflict hung palpably in the air. 

The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by the late Madame Marguerite Duthuit-Matisse.