Offset lithograph, satin paper (approx. 250 g/m²); 42 x 59 in light passe - partout, 58 x 73 cm; signed on plate l.d. "Henri Matisse 35"; stamp "Royal Dutch Gallery" on back; copyright Succession H. Matisse/DACS.
The present work depicts a model lying in a twisted pose with her head facing the viewer. The model was Russian Lydia Delectorskaya, posing for this magnificent composition, who proved to be a patient model. In a biography of Matisse, Hilary Spurling gives the following description of Matisse's process during the creation of this painting: "The model remained completely still throughout. It was Matisse who manipulated the arms and legs, pushing the elements of his relatively simple composition to the farthest limits of distortion, but never losing touch with the reality represented by Lydia posing for him on a blue and white checkered bedspread with her legs bent and one arm crossed behind her head. ("My pose didn't change," she said; "it was comfortable and always the same.")" (H. Spurling, Matisse the Master, New York, 2005, p. 360).
Matisse simplified the naturalistic contours of the model's figures to make them more geometric, and before eliminating perspective foreshortening and flattening space by suppressing the diagonals of the limbs. This is one of the few works by Matisse showing his fascination with Cubism. Matisse admired Picasso and criticized him at the same time, being his fierce rival.
Literature:
Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Matisse: His Art and his Public, New York, 1951, p. 247
John Russell, The World of Matisse, New York, 1969, pp. 134-135
Lydia Delectorskaya, L'apparente facilité, Henri Matisse: Peintures de 1935-1939, Paris, 1986, illustrated p. 59
Pierre Schneider, Matisse, London, 2002, illustrated p. 636
