HENRI MATISSE | Buste de femme avec blouse à carreaux

Jacques Dubourg, Paris
Lionel Prejger, Paris
Galerie Beyeler, Basel
Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
The Waddington Galleries, London
Acquavella Galleries, Inc., New York
Acquired from the above

Tokyo, Yayoi Gallery, European Art of the 18th, 19th, 20th Centuries, 1974, n.n.
Paris, Berggruen & Cie., Matisse, Dessins au pinceau, 1983, no. 8, illustrated in the catalogue
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Aquarelle, Gouachen, Zeichnungen, 1988, no. 66, illustrated in the catalogue

Executed on cream wove paper. The sheet is t hinged to a mount in two places along the upper edge of its verso. All four edges are deckled. Artist's pinholes in all four corners. The sheet is very lightly time struck. Some scattered spots of foxing throughout. Scattered nicks and small tears to the extreme edges of the sheet, the greatest of which measures 1/4 inch in length. An additional repaired semi-circular loss at the center of the top edge, measuring 1/2 inch in diameter. Toward the center of the bottom edge there is an additional possible repaired tear, measuring 1/2 inch in diameter. This work is in 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.

Fearing the threat of German invasion, Matisse fled Paris for the Hôtel Régina in 1939, returning to the grand rooms which had been his home and studio in Nice. Fascinated by textile decoration and ornamentation, he transformed the space with paintings, mirrors, curtains, wallpaper and decorative screens, creating a theatrical setting in which to depict his models. Although he suffered intermittently from ill health and was at times confined to bed, Matisse produced some of his most life-affirming compositions during this period. Amid the exotic splendors of tropical plants, exotic textiles and a stream of bird-song issuing from his aviary, Matisse executed a series of drawings which were among his final great accomplishments before he devoted himself to his cut-outs. Buste de femme avec blouse à carreaux illustrates Matisse’s ability to capture the complexities of the female form in a few simple lines, while also showcasing the checkered pattern that adorned both subjects and backgrounds in his work in Nice. Alfred Barr characterized Matisse’s work at this time as a “complete synthesis after fifty years of study and ceaseless research in which academic, impressionist, quasi-primitive, arbitrarily abstract and comparatively realistic styles were all put to the test” (Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Matisse, His Art and His Public, New York, 1951, p. 237).

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