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Lot Essay
Wanda de Guébriant has confirmed the authenticity of this work.
Henri Matisse created Figure au tapis scutari around 1922. This picture shows one of his most important models, Henriette Darricarrère, her head leaning on her hand while she sits looking in the direction of the artist - and the viewer. Figure au tapis scutari relates directly to one of Matisse's oil paintings of the same period, La blouse rose, formerly in the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Indeed, during this period, Matisse created several drawings in charcoal and estompe of subjects that he was also immortalising in oils. This was a vital part of his artistic process, as he embraced pure colour in his paintings. He was expunging black from his paintings as much as possible, as is clear from looking at La blouse rose; this meant that he was less able to use the most traditional means of giving a sense of volume, of adding the modelling needed. By contrast, there is a richly sculptural character apparent in Figure au tapis scutari, which has been modelled through the virtuoso use of charcoal and estompe - a form of eraser by which Matisse was able to create the even more nuanced variety of shading visible here. John Elderfield would discuss this role of Matisse's charcoal and estompe drawings with particular reference to Figure au tapis scutari and La blouse rose, writing that this medium and lithography were both 'particularly suited to investigating how his new preoccupation with tonal modelling could be reconciled with his longstanding concern for the decorative flatness of the picture surface. Both media ideally permitted him to create a wide range of soft, closely graded tones that appear to adhere to the flatness of the sheet and to release especially subtle effects of light from the luminous whiteness of the paper. The volumes thus created stayed "light" in feeling despite their solidity, and it was this "light," disembodied sense of volume that he sought in his painting too' (J. Elderfield, Matisse in the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, exh. cat., New York, 1978, pp. 122-124).
During the 1920s, Matisse was revelling in the light of the South of France, where he was increasingly establishing himself. By the time he created Figure au tapis scutari, he had acquired an apartment at 1, place Charles Félix in Nice and was gradually converting more and more of this space into his studio. Now, instead of the hotel rooms in which he had formerly stayed - and where his ability to change his environment was limited as the rooms and contents belonged to the hotel - he was able to redecorate at will, often creating the Orientalist idyll that is hinted at by the tapis scutari in this drawing. Similarly, in La blouse rose, the backdrop is revealed to comprise panels of patterned textile. While in the oil painting, this resulted in a complex interplay of colour patterns and rhythms, in Figure au tapis scutari Matisse has concentrated on the form of Henriette herself; the backdrop is subsidiary in a way that it is not in the oil equivalent.
As well as the change of studio, the presence of Henriette also brought about a great release in Matisse's work, resulting in a string of celebrated images, especially showing her in the guise of an odalisque. Henriette was incredibly versatile and was able to adopt poses and costumes alike with great ease. For seven years, she was both Matisse's muse, featuring in lyrical pictures such as Figure au tapis scutari, and also a member of his extended family. She became a friend of the artist's daughter, Marguerite, who was half a dozen years older, as well as a companion for his wife.
Henri Matisse created Figure au tapis scutari around 1922. This picture shows one of his most important models, Henriette Darricarrère, her head leaning on her hand while she sits looking in the direction of the artist - and the viewer. Figure au tapis scutari relates directly to one of Matisse's oil paintings of the same period, La blouse rose, formerly in the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Indeed, during this period, Matisse created several drawings in charcoal and estompe of subjects that he was also immortalising in oils. This was a vital part of his artistic process, as he embraced pure colour in his paintings. He was expunging black from his paintings as much as possible, as is clear from looking at La blouse rose; this meant that he was less able to use the most traditional means of giving a sense of volume, of adding the modelling needed. By contrast, there is a richly sculptural character apparent in Figure au tapis scutari, which has been modelled through the virtuoso use of charcoal and estompe - a form of eraser by which Matisse was able to create the even more nuanced variety of shading visible here. John Elderfield would discuss this role of Matisse's charcoal and estompe drawings with particular reference to Figure au tapis scutari and La blouse rose, writing that this medium and lithography were both 'particularly suited to investigating how his new preoccupation with tonal modelling could be reconciled with his longstanding concern for the decorative flatness of the picture surface. Both media ideally permitted him to create a wide range of soft, closely graded tones that appear to adhere to the flatness of the sheet and to release especially subtle effects of light from the luminous whiteness of the paper. The volumes thus created stayed "light" in feeling despite their solidity, and it was this "light," disembodied sense of volume that he sought in his painting too' (J. Elderfield, Matisse in the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, exh. cat., New York, 1978, pp. 122-124).
During the 1920s, Matisse was revelling in the light of the South of France, where he was increasingly establishing himself. By the time he created Figure au tapis scutari, he had acquired an apartment at 1, place Charles Félix in Nice and was gradually converting more and more of this space into his studio. Now, instead of the hotel rooms in which he had formerly stayed - and where his ability to change his environment was limited as the rooms and contents belonged to the hotel - he was able to redecorate at will, often creating the Orientalist idyll that is hinted at by the tapis scutari in this drawing. Similarly, in La blouse rose, the backdrop is revealed to comprise panels of patterned textile. While in the oil painting, this resulted in a complex interplay of colour patterns and rhythms, in Figure au tapis scutari Matisse has concentrated on the form of Henriette herself; the backdrop is subsidiary in a way that it is not in the oil equivalent.
As well as the change of studio, the presence of Henriette also brought about a great release in Matisse's work, resulting in a string of celebrated images, especially showing her in the guise of an odalisque. Henriette was incredibly versatile and was able to adopt poses and costumes alike with great ease. For seven years, she was both Matisse's muse, featuring in lyrical pictures such as Figure au tapis scutari, and also a member of his extended family. She became a friend of the artist's daughter, Marguerite, who was half a dozen years older, as well as a companion for his wife.