Henri Matisse
Nude with Blue Cushion next to a Fireplace
1924
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Henri Matisse
Nude with Blue Cushion next to a Fireplace
1924
Physical Qualities
Crayon transfer lithograph, Sheet: 754 × 564 mm. (29 11/16 × 22 3/16 in.)
Image: 638 × 482 mm. (25 1/8 × 19 in.)
Mat: 39 15/16 × 29 15/16 in. (101.5 × 76 cm.)
Credit Line
The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland
Object Number
1950.12.187
The reclining nude pose became an aesthetic challenge of great fascination to Matisse. As he worked on his great bronze sculpture "Large Seated Nude" between 1922 and 1929, he continued to explore aspects of the pose in many drawings and prints. In his series of large lithographs of a nude in an armchair, the simplified interior allows the figure to take on a monumentality similar to that of the sculpture on view nearby. After printing the first version, Matisse reworked the original drawing, adding the patterning and realistic setting we see in the second version of the composition, "Nude with Blue Cushion next to a Fireplace." He then transferred the new version to a second lithographic stone and printed it. The presence of both lithographs in Cone’s collection demonstrates her interest in following Matisse’s experimentation throughout successive iterations.
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN, "Prints: 1800-1945," Mar. 23 - Sept. 26, 1966.
BMA, "Master Prints II: Daumier to Picasso," 25 October, 1983 - 15 January, 1984.
Jay Fisher, BMA, "75 Years/75 Prints: Masterpieces from the Museum's Collection, 1914-1989," 1 April - 4 June, 1989.
Jay Fisher, BMA, "Matisse, Picasso and Friends: Masterworks on Paper from The Cone Collection," 7 June - 27 August, 1995.
Jay Fisher, "Matisse, Picasso and Friends: Masterworks on Paper from the Cone Collection," The Cleveland Museum of Art, 17 November, 1996 - 19 January, 1997; Seattle Art Museum 20 February - 20 April, 1997; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston 18 May - 13 July, 1997.
Katy Rothkopf, "Matisse, Picasso and the School of Paris," circulated to North Carolina Museum of Art, October 10, 2004 - January 16, 2005, and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, March 2 - June 3, 2007.
"Matisse: Masterworks from The Baltimore Museum of Art," exhibition circulated to: Indianapolis Museum of Art, 11 October 2013 - 12 January 2014 (NB title variation, IMA only - Matisse, Life in Color: Masterworks from The Baltimore Museum of Art); Minneapolis Institute of Art, 23 February - 18 May 2014; San Antonio Museum of Art, 15 June - 7 September 2014.
Katy Rothkopf and Leslie Cozzi, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A Modern Influence: Henry Matisse, Etta Cone, and Baltimore," October 3, 2021 - January 2, 2022.
BMA, "Master Prints II: Daumier to Picasso," 25 October, 1983 - 15 January, 1984.
Jay Fisher, BMA, "75 Years/75 Prints: Masterpieces from the Museum's Collection, 1914-1989," 1 April - 4 June, 1989.
Jay Fisher, BMA, "Matisse, Picasso and Friends: Masterworks on Paper from The Cone Collection," 7 June - 27 August, 1995.
Jay Fisher, "Matisse, Picasso and Friends: Masterworks on Paper from the Cone Collection," The Cleveland Museum of Art, 17 November, 1996 - 19 January, 1997; Seattle Art Museum 20 February - 20 April, 1997; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston 18 May - 13 July, 1997.
Katy Rothkopf, "Matisse, Picasso and the School of Paris," circulated to North Carolina Museum of Art, October 10, 2004 - January 16, 2005, and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, March 2 - June 3, 2007.
"Matisse: Masterworks from The Baltimore Museum of Art," exhibition circulated to: Indianapolis Museum of Art, 11 October 2013 - 12 January 2014 (NB title variation, IMA only - Matisse, Life in Color: Masterworks from The Baltimore Museum of Art); Minneapolis Institute of Art, 23 February - 18 May 2014; San Antonio Museum of Art, 15 June - 7 September 2014.
Katy Rothkopf and Leslie Cozzi, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A Modern Influence: Henry Matisse, Etta Cone, and Baltimore," October 3, 2021 - January 2, 2022.
Hahnloser-Ingold, Margrit. Matisse: The Graphic Work. New York: Rizzoli, 1988, p. 88, no. 41 (published as “Nude with Blue Cushion (II), by Fireplace”).
Cozzi, Leslie and Katherine Rothkopf (eds). "A Modern Influence: Henri Matisse, Etta Cone, and Baltimore." Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2021. ill.
Inscribed: lower right in graphite: "11/50 Henri Matisse"
