Odalisque, Half-Length--The Tattoo

1923

Henri Matisse

Associated Names
Henri Matisse

Artist, French, 1869 - 1954

This painting depicts a partially nude woman from the waist up. She is seated, facing us, wearing a bright blue headscarf that conceals her hair. There is a small black cross on her forehead. The woman has pale skin, dark eyes, and a neutral expression, and she wears with a necklace of round yellow ornaments. Her chest is bare, but a green fabric is wrapped around her waist. Her hands are clasped in her lap. The chair she sits on has yellow and olive-green stripes, and the wall behind her is tan, with red, leaf-patterned drapery on the right side.
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On View

East Building Ground Level, Gallery 103

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Chester Dale Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 35.6 x 24.4 cm (14 x 9 5/8 in.)
    framed: 57.1 x 46.3 cm (22 1/2 x 18 1/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1963.10.40

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Georges Bernheim, in 1923. (Jos Hessel, Paris); Georges Bénard, Paris. (Elzevir Trading) sold 14 October 1927 to (Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris); sold 1 December 1927 to (Gérard Frères).[1] Jean Laroche, [1866-1935] Villa Sauge Pourprée, Deauville; (his sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 8 December 1928, no. 61); purchased by (Etienne Bignou, Paris) for Chester Dale [1883-1962], New York;[2] bequest 1963 to NGA.
[1] See Guy-Patrice and Michel Dauberville, Henri Matisse Chez Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 1995, volume 2, no. 563.
[2] Letter from Bignou to Kraushaar, dated 11 December 1928, lists the three paintings he bought for Chester Dale at the Laroche sale (Kraushaar Gallery Records, Archives of American Art, Box 12, Folder 34, Incoming Correspondence; copy in NGA curatorial files). A photograph of the picture is included in the Bignou albums at the documentation center of the Musée d'Orsay, Paris (copy in NGA curatorial files).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1931

  • Henri Matisse, Galeries Georges Petit, Paris, 1931, no. 94, as Femme Mauresque.

1943

  • Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1943-1951, unnumbered cat., repro., as Moorish Woman.

1963

  • The Chester Dale Bequest, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC., 1965, Unnumbered Check List.

1986

  • Henri Matisse: The Early Years in Nice 1916-1930, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1986-7, no. 112, repro.

Bibliography

1929

  • Dale, Maud. Before Manet to Modigliani from the Chester Dale Collection. New York, 1929: no. 74, repro., as Le Tatouage, Femme Mauresque.

1943

  • Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. Philadelphia, 1943:, unpaginated, repro., as Moorish Woman.

1965

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings & Sculpture of the French School in the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965 (rev. ed.): 48, repro., as Moorish Woman.

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 87, as Moorish Woman.

  • Frankfurter, Alfred. "How Great is the Dale Collection?" Art News 64 (May 1965):40-43, 51-53, repro.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 77, repro., as Moorish Woman.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 226, repro., as Moorish Woman.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 259, repro., as Moorish Woman.

1995

  • Dauberville, Guy-Patrice and Michel. Henri Matisse Chez Bernheim-Jeune. 2 vols. Paris, 1995:II:no. 563.

Inscriptions

lower right: Henri-Matisse

Wikidata ID

Q20192461

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