Heinz Berggruen, Paris (acquired by 1958)
Jan Krugier, Zurich (acquired by 1966)
Galerie Marie-Louise Jeanneret, Geneva (acquired in 1973)
Galerie Bellier, Paris (acquired by 1985)
Waddington Galleries Ltd., London

Paris, Galerie Berggruen & Cie., Henri Matisse, Dessins et sculptures inédites, 1958, illustrated on the cover of the catalogue
Hamburg, Kunsthalle, Dessin français du XXème siècle, 1959, no. 197
Los Angeles, University of California Art Galleries; Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago; Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Henri Matisse: Retrospective, 1966, no. 179, illustrated in the catalogue
New York, Albert Loeb & Krugier Gallery, Matisse Drawings, 1967, no. 18

Pierre Reverdy & Georges Duthuit, Verve: The Last Works of Henri Matisse, vol. IX, nos. 35-36, Paris, 1958, illustrated p. 46

Executed on cream wove paper. There are artist's pinholes at all four corners of the sheet; at the upper right corner there is an associated repaired tear. A faint 1 cm mat stain is visible along the perimeter of the sheet, and there are faint spots of orange discoloration at all four corners, possibly from a prior mounting. A few tiny flecks of staining dot the lower left quadrant of the sheet. Overall the work is in very good condition. The following condition report has been provided by Alan Firkser of Paper Conservation Studio, Inc., an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The sheet has four tape stains top corners, lower left corner and right edge between center and bottom. There are pinholes at all corners and and a narrow mat stain running along the left right and bottom edges. The sheet has some subtle buckling throughout.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

In this pensive portrait, Matisse has worked his charcoal into the surface of the paper, rubbing out certain areas to create shadow and defining others with a more emphatic line. Between the 1920s and early 1940s, charcoal and estompe, as used in the present work, became Matisse's preferred medium when working on paper, using erasure to remove the rough charcoal surface and to create texture. In his article Notes d'un peintre sur son dessin published in 1939, Matisse described the advantages of this particular medium which allowed him, he wrote: "to consider simultaneously the character of the model, the human expression, the quality of surrounding light, atmosphere and all that can be expressed by drawing" (quoted in John Elderfield, The Drawings of Henri Matisse, London, 1984, p. 84▨). The current sketch, thus, unveils a study of both model꧃ and artist.

In the present charcoal, Matisse plays with the general allure of the exotic – capturing the model's identity in the soft charcoal haze of artistic creation and imagination. Long-time muse Lydia Delectorskaya understood the process best, saying: "To be Matisse's model is to mediate between the artist and the dream" (quoted in Marie-France Boyer, Matisse at Villa le Rêve, 1943-1948, 2004, p. 76).

Fig. 1  Matisse sketc♋hing a model in his studio at Villa Alesia. Photograph by Brassaï, Paris, 1939