Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris
Dr Soubies, Paris (sold: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 14th June 1928, lot 56)
Georges Renand, Paris (sold: Drouot Montaigne, Paris, Collection Georges Renand, 20th November 1987, lot 22)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Lucerne, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Henri Matisse, 1949, no. 74 (as dating from 1920)

The canvasboard is stable and there is no evidence of retouching under ultra-violet light. This work is in very good original condition. Colours: In comparison to the printed catalogue illustration, the colours are overall fairly accurate, although the red in the curtain is slightly cooler in the original.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Matisse's striking composition Nu au drapé marks a critical moment for the artist, both in spirit and in style. Throughout the war years, Matisse had worked against the tide of Cubism that swept through the European avant-garde, committing himself to a style of painting that was grounded in form and colour. His art was an antidote to the 'drying-up effect of pure abstraction' that he saw consuming his peers, and he struggled to reveal the plastic beauty of form and figuration. Matisse's finest pictures of this period focused on 'the harmonious, light-filled, and often profusely decorated interiors, with languorous and seductive models' (John Elderfield, 'The Early Years at Nice', in Henri Matisse: A Retrospective (exhibition catalogue), The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1992, p. 289). This splendidly painted work is a product of that rich artistic vocabulary, portraying one of those 'seductive' models, whose pose enhances the generous curves of her body.

Matisse painted Nu au drapé in 1918 in the apartment that he rented at the Hôtel Méditerranée et de la Côte d'Azur in Nice. The light that streamed through the window provided excellent illumination, resulting in the dramatic highlights on the model's flesh in the present picture. Matisse is particularly concerned here with the mass and balance of the body depicted in contrapposto. With the counterbalance of the hip accentuated by the deep fold of the torso, Matisse's nude strikes a pose similar to that of Renaissance sculpture. In fact, for his two-dimensional renderings of nude models, Matisse often drew from his experiences as a sculptor and his understanding of manipulating form in the round. Describing one of Matisse's sculptures, Oliver Shell wrote the following analysis of the artist's approach, which can also be applied to the present painting: '[Matisse] accentuates all of the consequences of the weight-bearing leg, which tilts the figure's pelvis and produces a series of pronounced and subtle counterbalanced bodily shifts. Although the figure does not technically move, it is animated by an internal spiralling rhythm that Matisse referred to as the arabesque. Comparing himself to his friend the sculptor Aristide Maillol, Matisse would write, "Maillol, like the Antique masters, proceeds by volume, I am concerned with arabesque like the Renaissance artists"' (O. Shell in Matisse: Painter as Sculptor (exhibition c🌟atalogue), The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, 2007-08, p. 114).