Reclining Nude
Henri Matisse
(French, 1869–1954)
1923–25
Object PlaceFrance
Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 34.9 x 59.7 cm (13 3/4 x 23 1/2 in.)
Credit LineArthur K. Solomon Collection
Accession number2004.444
On View
On viewClassificationsPaintings
Collections
In the 1920s Matisse lived in Nice, on the French Riviera, in an apartment filled with color and pattern-on wallpapers, rugs, and textiles. These rich backgrounds appear over and over again in his paintings of this period. But Matisse cautioned the viewer not to be confused by "the array of hangings and rugs … the sensuality of heavy, drowsy bodies … this splendid display of a siesta elevated to the maximum intensity of arabesque and color" for there is "a great tension brewing" in works such as this, a tension found in the interplay of line, color, and volume.
ProvenanceWith the Galerie Simon, Paris (stock no. 8443). Sacha Guitry (b. 1885 - d. 1957), Paris. Justin K. Thannhauser (b. 1892 - d. 1976), Paris and New York; by 1955, sold by Thannhauser to Arthur K. Solomon (b. 1912 - d. 2002), Cambridge, MA; 2004, gift of the Arthur K. Solomon collection to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 23, 2004)
Copyright© 2011 Succession H. Matisse, Paris / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
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