Woman with an Exotic Plant

c. 1925

Henri Matisse

Associated Names
Henri Matisse

Artist, French, 1869 - 1954

This drawing shows a woman seated on a cushioned bench, facing us with her arms across her lap and her legs crossed. She has dark eyebrows, a long nose, and round lips that seem to be closed in a neutral expression. Her skin is drawn in layered lines of white, pale peach, and pink, and she has short, dark, wavy hair. She is wearing a white-and-yellow top with black straps and a pleated blue skirt. A colorful shawl is wrapped around her left shoulder and her waist, with pink and green floral patterns on a white background and a line of fringe at the bottom. She wears a yellow necklace, a blue bracelet, and black shoes with a white clasp or ornament on top. The wall behind her is decorated with blue, white, and pink floral designs and vertical lines in green and pale blue tones, and the floor below her has diamond-shaped floor tiles in shades of pink, orange, cream, tan, and dark blue. On the left is a potted plant with green and yellow leaves in a brown pot.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pastel on wove paper coated with sawdust

  • Credit Line

    Chester Dale Collection

  • Dimensions

    Overall: 66.1 x 51.4 cm (26 x 20 1/4 in.)
    framed: 90.1 x 76.2 x 8.2 cm (35 1/2 x 30 x 3 1/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1963.10.170

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Purchased from the artist by (Etienne Bignou) and (Hodebert, Galerie Barbazanges), Paris, 1926; Chester Dale.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1931

  • Renoir and His Tradition, Museum of French Art, 1931, no. 27 (as La Plante grasse).

1943

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection, Art Institute of Chicago, 1943-1952 (extended loan), unnumbered catalogue, repro. p. 33

1965

  • The Chester Dale Bequest, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1965, unnumbered checklist.

2019

  • The Touch of Color: Pastels at the National Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2019 - 2020, unnumbered catalogue.

Bibliography

1930

  • McBride, Henry. Matisse. New York, 1930: 262 (reproduced).

1943

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1943:, 33, repro.

1952

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1952 (2nd ed., 1960; rev. ed., 1965): 40, repro.

1960

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1960 (2nd ed.): 42, repro.

  • The National Gallery of Art and Its Collections. Foreword by Perry B. Cott and notes by Otto Stelzer. National Gallery of Art, Washington (undated, 1960s): 23, color repro. 17.

1965

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings & Sculpture of the French School in the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965 (rev. ed.): 52, repro.

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 88.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 76, repro.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 228, repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 262, repro.

1995

  • Alger, Sandra L.H. Games for Teaching Art. Portland, Maine, 1995: 26 (reproduced).

Inscriptions

lower left: Henri Matisse

Wikidata ID

Q64573667

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