Henri Matisse

Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris (acquired from the artist on 18th May 1920)
The Independent Gallery (Percy Moore Turner), London (acquired from the above on 28th March 1924)
Chester H. Johnson Galleries, Chicago
Ben Hecht, New York & Hollywood (sold: Parke-Bernet Galleries Inc., New York, 14th April 1965, lot 57)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

London, The Independent Gallery (Percy Moore Turner), Paintings and Drawings by Contemporary Artists and Five Examples of Earlier Periods

Guy-Patrice & Michel Dauberville, Matisse, Paris, 1995, vol. II, no. 375, illustrated p. 852

The canvasboard is stable. There is no evidence of retouching under ultra-violet light. This work is in very good original condition. Colours: In comparison to the printed catalogue illustration, the colours are overall deeper and more varied in the original.
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Nu au fauteuil was painted during one of Matisse's early sojourns in Nice. Before establishing a permanent residence in the Place Charles Félix in 1921, he stayed at the Hôtel Méditerranée. As with other residences that he occupied at various times, Matisse turned his hotel room into a studio, painting female models against the colourful backdrop of rugs, wallpapers, curtains and plants. Discussing the setting of Matisse's oils from this period, Jack Cowart observed: 'There was no geometrical tile floor but, rather, a floral rug that was portrayed differently from painting to painting. It is sometimes small-patterned and mute; in other works it assumes a larger decorative play [...]. The artist hired a model, perhaps one of Antoinette's sisters, and posed this woman in various ways: with her hair held by a tall Spanish comb, wearing tasselled shawls, an ample striped robe, in a ruffled blouse, or nude, draped simply with a celery-colored cloth. These works mark Matisse's growing commitment to the theme of the model posed against a room interior' (J. Cowart, in Henri Matisse, The Early Years in Nice, 1916-1930 (exhibition catalogue), National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1986-87, p. 25).

 

Attracted by the atmosphere and the rich source of inspiration he encountered in Nice, Matisse spent much of the subsequent decades there, producing some of the most iconic works of his career. Though images of the resort town and sea beyond are occasionally visible in these works, often through an open window, Matisse often chose to portray his models indoors. The intimacy of this arrangement allowed the artist to focus on the human form, depicting a number of female models who sat for him. Nu au fauteuil displays Matisse's ability to capture his model in a natural, casual pose, as well as his fascination with fabrics and patterns.

Charles Vildrac, a poet and friend of the artist, wrote about Matisse's makeshift studio at the Hôtel Méditerranée: 'I went to see Matisse once in that room in Nice which looks out on the promenade and on the sea and which he has left since. I knew most of the paintings that he painted there these last years. Therefore I found the high window and its curtains, the red rug and its decoration, the "toad" armchair in which Matisse often placed the nude model [...]. Without a doubt, I found myself in the room "of the Matisse paintings"' (C. Vildrac, quoted in ibid., p. 26).