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Lot Essay
The years 1917 to 1930 mark Matisse’s so-called early Nice period, when his principal subject remained the female figure, and more specifically the odalisque—women adorning fanciful costumes, generally set in an exotic interior, surrounded by decorative patterns.
In the later 1920s, Matisse turned increasingly to what would prove to become his signature style of draughtsmanship: making pure line drawings in pen and ink. John Elderfield has observed, "In the second half of the 1920s, Matisse's drawings would seem to throw off their wistful moods to become as relaxed and hedonistic as most of his paintings were. This was accompanied and made possible by a shift from tonal charcoal drawing to line. Compared to the ink drawings of the early 1920s, the new ink drawings tend, by and large, to eschew shading. Line alone gives weight to figures and participates in the ornamentation provided by the similarly arabesque treatment of the setting.” (The Drawings of Henri Matisse, exh. cat., The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1984, p. 91).
The present drawing is related to a series of odalisque paintings executed in 1927-1928. "These striking paintings are the fullest realization of Matisse's thesis on pattern, decoration, and the odalisque placed in this 'brewing tension'" (J. Cowart, Matisse, The Early Years in Nice 1916-1930, exh. cat., The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1987, p. 37). The composition mirrors the paintings of this period in their tripartite layout, with a floral design in the foreground leading the eye into the space, in which the model occupies the center, with various props and patterning constituting the background. The present Odalisque is a study for Odalisque au pantalon gris, in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The main difference between these two compositions appears to be the slight shift in viewpoint, with the figure moving down and to the right in the final painting.
Odalisque is being offered directly from the family of the artist, and has never been exhibited publicly.
In the later 1920s, Matisse turned increasingly to what would prove to become his signature style of draughtsmanship: making pure line drawings in pen and ink. John Elderfield has observed, "In the second half of the 1920s, Matisse's drawings would seem to throw off their wistful moods to become as relaxed and hedonistic as most of his paintings were. This was accompanied and made possible by a shift from tonal charcoal drawing to line. Compared to the ink drawings of the early 1920s, the new ink drawings tend, by and large, to eschew shading. Line alone gives weight to figures and participates in the ornamentation provided by the similarly arabesque treatment of the setting.” (The Drawings of Henri Matisse, exh. cat., The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1984, p. 91).
The present drawing is related to a series of odalisque paintings executed in 1927-1928. "These striking paintings are the fullest realization of Matisse's thesis on pattern, decoration, and the odalisque placed in this 'brewing tension'" (J. Cowart, Matisse, The Early Years in Nice 1916-1930, exh. cat., The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1987, p. 37). The composition mirrors the paintings of this period in their tripartite layout, with a floral design in the foreground leading the eye into the space, in which the model occupies the center, with various props and patterning constituting the background. The present Odalisque is a study for Odalisque au pantalon gris, in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The main difference between these two compositions appears to be the slight shift in viewpoint, with the figure moving down and to the right in the final painting.
Odalisque is being offered directly from the family of the artist, and has never been exhibited publicly.