1917 - Henri Matisse (1869 Le Cateau-Cambrésis – 1954 Cimiez)

Henri Matisse (1869 Le Cateau-Cambrésis – 1954 Cimiez) "Odalisque au coffret rouge." Original title Color aquatint on Arches vellum (with watermark), ca. 1952. Signed and numbered 54/200. Published by Maeght Éditeur, Paris. A vivid print based on the well-known painting of the same name by Henri Matisse from 1927, which is housed in the Musée Matisse in Nice. Cat. Duthuit-Matisse III; Maeght 1502. With her head propped up, the odalisque—wearing loose blue pants and a light purple open blouse—lies on a sofa, gazing dreamily and pensively past us, the viewers. The table in front of her is covered with a blue-and-pink patterned tablecloth, on which rests the enigmatic red casket mentioned in the title. In the 1920s, Matisse frequently turned to the theme of the odalisque—the white, Western harem ladies who had already fascinated Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and Benjamin Constant in the 19th century. Like many other painters—including Gauguin and the “Brücke” artists—he, too, was evidently unable to resist the allure of the foreign, the primitive, the exotic, and, specifically, the Oriental. Here, the loose-fitting pants and the ostentatiously displayed voluptuous physique are striking hallmarks of these Oriental, sensual, and desirable women. In contrast, however, is the detached gaze of this odalisque, which stands in opposition to any erotic atmosphere. In addition to the sensuality—which the artist never questioned—something else was equally decisive for Matisse: “No matter how lasciviously an odalisque may lie there, for Matisse she was above all a challenge of form and color, which he tackled with hard work and critical observation as he translated it into the painting.” (Quoted from the exhibition catalog: “Henri Matisse. Figure, Color, Space,” Fondation Beyeler, Basel 2006, p. 12). Alongside his friend Pablo Picasso, Matisse shaped modern art like almost no other. In the early 20th century, with his increasingly flat compositions, clear contours, and bold colors, he found his way to Fauvism, becoming one of its leading exponents. Matisse exhibited for the first time at the 1905 Paris Salon d’Automne alongside his fellow artists Derain, Manguin, and Rouault; they drew fierce criticism for the impetuous use of color in their paintings and were labeled with the derogatory term “Fauves” (the Wild Ones). In 1908, he founded his own school in Paris, where he particularly influenced German painters such as Hans Purrmann. In 1913, Matisse participated in the Armory Show in New York; in 1917, he moved to Nice, where he lived and worked from then on. Plate dimensions approx. 41.7 cm x 55.4 cm; sheet 56.5 cm x 70.7 cm. Lit./Catalog: Marguerite Duthuit-Matisse and Claude Duthuit: “Henri Matisse. Catalogue raisonné de l’oeuvre gravé,” Vol. 2, Paris 1983, No. III. Aquatint in color on Arches wove paper (with watermark). Hand-signed in pencil and numbered 54/200. Published by Maeght Éditeur, Paris, in 1952.