亨利·馬蒂斯

signed Henri Matisse and dated 1936 (lower right)
pen and ink on paper
50.7 by 37.8cm.; 20 by 14 7/8in.
Executed in Nice in 1936.

The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Wanda de Guebriant

Estate of the artist

Acquired from the above by the present owner in April 1996

Executed on cream wove paper, hinged to the mount on the reverse. There are artist's pinholes to all four corners. There is a fine line (0.5 in.) of dirt to the center of the lower edge. Apart from a nailhead-sized paper rubbing towards the lower left corner and another towards the upper left corner, and some pin-sized spots of foxing towards the extreme edges, this work is in 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.

The sense of volume which Matisse creates with his nude model in Odalisque is offset by a bold flattening of perspective in the decorative elements that fill the space around her. Matisse preferred to situate his models in richly-adorned spaces with patterned textiles, creating a dynamism in his drawings that is rarely matched in the Modernist canon. His focus, however, remains on the model.

Discussing his interior scenes Matisse wrote that: "My models, human figures, are never just 'extras' in an interior. They are the principal theme in my work. I depend entirely on my model, whom I observe at liberty, and then I decide on the pose which best suits her nature. When I take a new model, I intuit the pose that will best suit her from her un-self-conscious attitudes of repose, and then I become the slave of that pose. I often keep those girls several years, until my interest is exhausted. My plastic signs probably express their souls (a word I dislike), which interests me subconsciously, or what else is there? Their forms are not always perfect, but they are expressive. The emotional interest aroused in me by them does not appear particularly in the representation of their bodies, but often rather in the lines or the special values distributed over the whole canvas or paper, which form its complete orchestration, its architecture. But not everyone perceives this. It is perhaps sublimated sensual pleasure, which may not yet be perceived by everyone" (quoted in Ernst Gerhard Güse, Henri Matisse, Drawings and Sculpture, Munich, 1991, p. 22).