“What interests me most is neither still-life nor landscapes but the human figure. The model for others is a piece of information. In my case it is something, which arrests me. It is the source of my energy.”

                                                                    Henri Matisse

An inspired painter and expert colorist, Henri Matisse dedicated himself wholly and obsessively to his art. During his life he created masterpieces of painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, costume design, stained glass and paper cutouts. His approach to color, design and abstraction, always with deep consideration of the model, was seminal in the development of modern art.

Matisse was born on New Year’s Eve, 1869, the son of a prosperous grain merchant. As a young man he studied law in Paris, a training that led to a dead-end job as a lawyer’s clerk. In 1890, when convalescing from appendicitis, his mother gave him a box of paints. As he tells it later, it was an epiphany: “When I started to paint, I felt transported into a kind of paradise … I felt gloriously free, quiet and alone.” After years of struggle in Paris, this chance beginning led to a position of leadership among a group of young painters who were called the Fauves – literally “Wild Beasts” for their bold use of form and color.

By 1925, Matisse had been voted the most important artist in France. This coincided with a growing demand for works by recognized artists around the world. A network of new galleries and young art dealers had developed in Paris, London, Germany, Great Britian and the United States. In this exciting climate, original Matisse paintings commanded the highest prices, which ultimately led to a strong demand for his graphic work.

Matisse’s graphic work – over 800 original works on paper – represents a life-long dialogue between artist and model. Working almost exclusively in black and white, Matisse drew luxurious figures with a combination of pure line and delicate shading. Through these portraits of exotic women, we are given a glimpse into his artistic intent – to capture the impressions aroused in him by the presence of the model rather that exactly what he was. Matisse once described his creative process in this way “I have never considered drawing as and exercise of particular dexterity, rather as a means of expressing intimate feelings and describing states of mind,” – a truly modern approach.