Though best known for his paintings and drawings, Matisse’s sculptures were crucial to his artistic development, allowing him to explore form in three dimensions. Primarily working in bronze, he created simplified, expressive figures that mirrored the evolution of his painted and drawn subjects. His Back series (1909–31), four progressively abstracted reliefs of a standing female figure, reflects his shift towards simplification and stylisation. Other works, such as The Serpentine (1909), highlight his interest in movement and balance. While Matisse's sculptural output was relatively small, these works played a key role in shaping his approach to volume, space and composition.