Provenance
The artist; sold to Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, Apr. 19, 1921; sold to Frederick Clay Bartlett (1873–1953), Chicago, June 25, 1923; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, Jan. 27, 1926.
Accession Number
27980
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
38 × 46 cm (15 1/4 × 18 1/8 in.)
Classification
oil on canvas
Credit Line
Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection
Background & Context
Background Story
Henri Matisse's Woman on Rose Divan (1921) is an oil on canvas from the early Nice period. After World War I, Matisse settled in Nice on the French Riviera. This painting shows a woman reclining on a rose-colored divan, the warm colors and soft forms creating an atmosphere of sensuous ease. The palette is dominated by the rose of the divan, complemented by warm flesh tones. Matisse's brushwork is fluid and confident. This painting embodies the spirit of the early Nice period: a celebration of beauty, luxury, and the pleasures of the senses.
Cultural Impact
Matisse's Nice period paintings represent one of the most joyful bodies of work in 20th-century art, a celebration of beauty that has never been surpassed.
Why It Matters
This painting of a woman on a rose divan captures the sensuous ease of Matisse's Nice period, the warm colors and fluid handling creating an image of perfect relaxation.
