Henri Matisse

Mme Jean Matisse
Harold Diamond (acquired from the above in 1979)
B. C. Holland, Inc., Chicago (acquired from the above)
Hirschl & Adler Gallery, New York
(probably) Acquired from the above by the present owner

Pierre Schneider, Matisse, London, 2002, illustrated p. 435

Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down, hinged to the mount at the top two corners, floating in the mount. Apart from some scattered pinhead-sized spots of foxing to the sheet, this work is in overall very good condition.
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 continuously returned to the study of the female form and devoted numerous compositions to capturing the essence of female sensuality through his spare use of line. Femme nue allongée is set in the artist's studio, and the unusual perspective of the work allows Matisse to set up an interesting juxtaposition with a previous work of a nude resting against an easle whilst also indulging his fascination with textiles. The rendering of the patterned fabric, as well as the curves and contours of the female body, were two of Matisse's principal aesthetic preoccupations in his drawing.

Matisse often spoke of how the act of drawing was integral to his approach to oil painting, but it is important to realize that his compositions in pen and ink are complete works in their own right.  Ernst Gerhard Güse has written, "There is nothing provisional about his drawings: they are complete, finished works, resulting from an extended process of identification.  The line which encircles the objects supplied a final, conclusive definition.  Through the connection between the line and the artist's emotions, his inner life, the drawing becomes an act of assimilation, taking possession of nature" (Ernst Gerhard Güse, Matisse, Drawings and Sculpture, Munich, 1991, p. 10).