Henri Matisse (Le Cateau-Cambrésis, 1869 - 1954, Nice)
Nude Woman Seated on a Table, about 1907
Graphite on wove paper, 30.8 x 23.5 cm (12 1/8 x 9 1/4 in.)
This graceful sketch in black pencil depicts a nude woman seen from her right side and back, sitting on the edge of a table. Both her buttocks and left hand rest on the edge of the table, her right hand raised to her face, which disappears under her bouffant hair. We see the profile of her small right breast. Her back is curved slightly forward, her neck hidden by her upswept hair. Her back is slightly shaded, a line indicating the separation of her buttocks. Her right thigh and muscular calf are supported by her flat right foot resting on the floor. Behind, her left leg is raised and bent at the knee, her left foot supported by the shaded table leg. The drawing is signed in the lower left corner by the artist, “Henri Matisse.”
Short Gallery
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.