"Suppose I want to paint a woman’s body: first of all, I imbue it with grace and charm, but I know that I must give it something more. I will concentrate the meaning of the body by seeking its essential lines. The charm will be less obvious at first glance, but it must eventually emerge from the image I have obtained, which will have a broader meaning, and one more fully human…"
-Henri Matisse
Source: Henri Matisse, Notes of a Painter, 1908
Brassaï, Henri Matisse in his Studio, Paris, 1939
© RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY; © Estate Brassai – RMN