Seated Nude in a Tan Room

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

This interior nude bears the formal and thematic characteristics of Matisse's early Nice period: spatial illusionism, a muted palette, and a female model presented in an intimate environment. The rapid paint handling and evidence of reworking imbue the canvas with an improvisatory quality that recalls the freshness of a sketch. The model's facial characteristics are rendered only schematically. Matisse focuses on formal concerns such as the contrast between the curving, arabesque forms of the woman's body and the more rigid geometry of squares and rectangles on the rug.

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