Henri Matisse

Maxime Blum

Sale: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, November 17, 1944, lot 103

Georges Renand, Paris (sold: Drouot-Montaigne, Paris, November 20, 1987, lot 23)

Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Paris, Maison de la Pensée française, Henri Matisse, 1950, no. 51, illustrated in the catalogue

Paris, Galerie Beaux-Arts, 1850-1950.  Tableaux de Collections Parisiennes, 1955, no. 69

Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Cent tableaux des Collections privées de Bonnard à de Staël, 1960, no. 69

Paris, Maison de la Pensée française, 15 ans d'activité artistique, 1962

Lydia Delectorskaya, Henri Matisse, Contre vents et marées, Peinture et livres illustrés de 1939 à 1943, Paris, 1996, no. 40, illustrated in color pl. 20 & p. 428

The canvas is lined. There is no evidence of retouching under UV. This work is in good condition. Colors: The flesh tones are a lighter pink, the dress is more gray (not purple), and the red background is a shade brighter than it appears in the catalogue illustration.
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.

Matisse painted Jeune femme assise en robe grise aux bandes violettes while staying at Hôtel Régina in Nice, where he moved in early November 1938, which was to become his home and studio and to which he often returned during his subsequent stays in Nice. Despite the uncertainties of the war years, during this time Matisse continued to paint joyous, brightly coloured paintings of female models in the interior of his apartment, which was transformed with paintings, mirrors, curtains and decorative screens, and presented a theatrical setting for his works. Fascinated by textile decoration and ornamentation, the artist always chose colorful, ornate motifs to serve as a backdrop to his figure paintings (fig. 1). Since his early interiors, Matisse demonstrated a delight in depicting the arabesques and floral motifs appearing on curtains, wallpapers and table-cloths, often transforming the entire painting surface into a continuous pattern. In the present work Matisse depicted his model wearing an elegant long dress, her head pensively resting on her arm, seen against a bright red wallpaper.

 

The sitter for Jeune femme assise en robe grise aux bandes violettes resembles Lydia Delektorskaya, a Russian émigré who worked in Matisse's studio, and was the inspiration for some of his best paintings from this period. Lydia became Matisse's studio assistant when he was working on a commission for the Barnes Foundation in 1933, and in the following year she was hired as a companion to the ailing Madame Matisse. In 1935 Lydia began posing for Matisse, and continued her collaboration with the artist until his death in 1954. Constantly present in Matisse's studio (fig. 2), Delectorskaya was able to assemble a large number of documents recording his production during this time, published in 1986 in her book Henri Matisse ... l'apparente facilité... . During this period, Matisse himself used to document his work in photographs, later donated to Delectorskaya, tracing his progress while working on major oils.

 

Discussing Matisse's portraits of this period, John Elderfield wrote: "his model is shown in decorative costumes – a striped Persian coat, a Rumanian blouse – and the decorativeness and the very construction of a costume and of a painting are offered as analogous. What developed were groups of paintings showing his model in similar or different poses, costumes, and settings: a sequence of themes and variations that gained in mystery and intensity as it unfolded" (J Elderfield in Henri Matisse, A Retrospective (ex. cat.), The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1992-93, p. 357). Indeed, like a musician composing variations on a given theme, Matisse constantly rearranged the pieces of furniture, decorative objects and plants in his studio, as well as his sitters' garments, tirelessly experimenting with his favourite theme and inventing new decorative combinations and painterly solutions, and creating one of the boldest and most life-affirming bodies of work in twentieth century art.