Lot Essay
Conceived in 1905, this sculpture is one of the first reclining figures executed by the artist in bronze. Sculpture became an important medium for the artist in the aftermath of his Fauve period.
The best comment on the significance Matisse gave to
sculpture, and the advantages he was able to draw from it,
is provided by the presence of sculpted figures in his
paintings. He first used them in 1906 with a Still Life
with a Plaster Figure where he depicted Standing Nude modeled earlier that same year. The sculpture restored the use
of three-dimensional volume which Fauvism, in its first
triumphant blaze, had consumed. After this, many of his
paintings included bronzes and plaster casts, which served
to counteract the handling of the picture in terms of its
pictorial surface without destroying the unity of the work
(The painting and the sculpture-within-the-painting were by
the same artist). (P. Schneider, op. cit., 1984, pp. 544-545)
The terracotta version of Nu assis appuyé sur les mains appears in the painting Nature morte au géranium painted in 1906 (see A. Elsen, op. cit., no. 75). In 1935 Matisse incorporated this figure again in the charcoal drawing Nature morte au bouquet d'anemones (see P. Schneider, ibid., p. 544).
Another bronze version of this sculpture (also numbered 3/10) was cast by A. Bingen in 1910-1912.
The best comment on the significance Matisse gave to
sculpture, and the advantages he was able to draw from it,
is provided by the presence of sculpted figures in his
paintings. He first used them in 1906 with a Still Life
with a Plaster Figure where he depicted Standing Nude modeled earlier that same year. The sculpture restored the use
of three-dimensional volume which Fauvism, in its first
triumphant blaze, had consumed. After this, many of his
paintings included bronzes and plaster casts, which served
to counteract the handling of the picture in terms of its
pictorial surface without destroying the unity of the work
(The painting and the sculpture-within-the-painting were by
the same artist). (P. Schneider, op. cit., 1984, pp. 544-545)
The terracotta version of Nu assis appuyé sur les mains appears in the painting Nature morte au géranium painted in 1906 (see A. Elsen, op. cit., no. 75). In 1935 Matisse incorporated this figure again in the charcoal drawing Nature morte au bouquet d'anemones (see P. Schneider, ibid., p. 544).
Another bronze version of this sculpture (also numbered 3/10) was cast by A. Bingen in 1910-1912.