Henri Matisse

Purple Robe and Anemones

1936

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Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse

Purple Robe and Anemones

1936

Physical Qualities Oil on canvas, Unframed: 28 3/4 × 23 5/8 in. (73 × 60 cm.) Framed: 37 × 31 13/16 × 3 1/2 in. (94 × 80.8 × 8.9 cm.)

Credit Line The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland

Object Number 1950.261

Lydia Delectorskaya, Matisse’s studio assistant and muse, was the model for Purple Robe and Anemones. Delectorskaya sits quietly amid a wild explosion of color and line, balanced between competing patterns and contours of warm and cool tones. The painting is alive with energy, as the lines in her robe echo the patterns on the wall behind her and the jug in the foreground. In some areas of the composition, such as the purple robe, the artist used a scraping technique to form stripes. In other parts, such as the decorative elements of the table in the foreground, he used paint to describe the pattern. Matisse was apparently very fond of this elegant purple robe, since he made several paintings in which a model wears it in a similar setting. Throughout his life, Matisse filled his studio with lush flowers, North African furnishings, and exotic fabrics. He delighted in including these elements in his paintings, using them to evoke a mood of leisure and voluptuousness.

The Baltimore Museum of Art by bequest, 1949; Etta Cone, Baltimore, by purchase, August 6, 1937; Paul Rosenberg, Paris

Galerie Paul Rosenberg, Paris, "Oeuvres Récentes de Henri-Matisse", June 1, 1937-June 29, 1937, no. 11. (Exhibited as "Femme à la robe violette et anemones")

Adelyn Breeskin, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A Century of Baltimore Collecting 1840-1940", June 6, 1941-September 1, 1941. (Exhibited as "The Purple Robe")

Gertrude Rosenthal, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Selections from the Cone Collection", October 7, 1949-December 31, 1949, no. 64.

The Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, FL, "The Art of Henri Matisse", February 6, 1953-March 1, 1953, no. 25.

The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The Cone Collection", circulated to The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, October 23, 1953-November 22, 1953.

The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The Cone Collection", circulated to M. Knoedler & Company, New York, January 24, 1955-February 19, 1955.

The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The Cone Collection", circulated to The Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, October 21, 1955-November 4, 1955.

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, "25th Birthday Exhibition/Treasures in America", January 13, 1961-March 5, 1961.

William A. McGonagle, Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NE, "The Thirties Decade: American Artists and their European Contemporaries", October 10, 1971-November 28, 1971, no. 143.

Jane Harrison Cone, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Cone Collection from The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to Wildenstein and Company, New York, March 29, 1974-May 4, 1974, no. 36. (Exhibited as "The Purple Robe")

The United States' Museum Interchange Subcommittee of CULCON, The Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, The Tokyo National Museum and The Kyoto National Museum, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, "Masterpieces or World Art from American Museums from Ancient Egyptian to Contemporary Art", September 11, 1976-October 17, 1976, no. 55; circulated to the Kyoto National Museum, November 2, 1976-December 5, 1976.

Brenda Richardson, "Matisse in the Collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, August 24, 1979-October 14, 1979.

The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Masterpieces from the Cone Collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October 6, 1985-November 24, 1985; circulated to the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, December 14, 1985-February 9, 1986.

Brenda Richardson, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse, Picasso and Impressionist Masters from the Cone Collection", circulated to The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, October 2, 1991-January 19, 1992.

Brenda Richardson, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Van Gogh to Matisse: Impressionist and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, November 21, 1993-January 30, 1994.

Brain Trust Inc., Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo, "Matisse and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", October 3, 1996-December 28, 1996, no. 38; circulated to the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, January 8, 1997-February 11, 1997.

The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse from The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Denver Art Museum, March 11, 2000-June 25, 2000; Birmingham Museum of Art, July 23, 2000-September 17, 2000; The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, October 10, 2000- January 28, 2001. EXHIBITED AT DENVER ONLY

The Baltimore Museum of Art and The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, The Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, "The Triumph of French Painting: Masterpieces from Ingres to Matisse", August 13, 2000-November 26, 2000, no. 57; circulated to The Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, January 8, 2001-March 11, 2001; Royal Academy of Arts, London, July 12, 2001-October 7, 2001; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, November 3, 2001-January 6, 2002.

Eric M. Zafran, Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, "Impressionism to Surrealism from the Baltimore Museum of Art", February 8, 2002-April 21, 2002, no. 32.

Ann Dumas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, "Matisse, His Art and His Textiles: The Fabric of Dreams", June 23, 2005-September 25, 2005, no. 43.

Katherine Rothkopf, The North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, "Matisse Picasso and the School of Paris: Masterpieces from The Baltimore Museum of Art featuring Selections from the Collection of Etta and Claribel Cone", October 10, 2004-January 16, 2005; circulated to The Naples Museum of Art, Naples, FL as "Matisse, Picasso and Friends: Impressionism to Surrealism, Masterworks of Painting and Sculpture from The Baltimore Museum of Art", February 5, 2005-May 1, 2005; The Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, as "Matisse, Picasso, and the School of Paris: Masterpieces from The Baltimore Museum of Art", March 2, 2007-June 3, 2007.

Dominique Szymusiak, Musée Matisse, Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France, "Lydia D. Lydia Delectorskaya Muse et Modèle de Matisse", February 27, 2010-May 30, 2010, pp. 130-131, 214, ill. p. 131; circulated to the Musée Matisse, Nice, France, June 18, 2010-September 27, 2010. (Exhibited as "Robe violette et anemones")

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, "Matisse at Work", April 9, 2017-July 9, 2017. Royal Academy of Arts, August 5, 2017-November 12, 2017.

"Oeuvres Récentes de Henri-Matisse," Paris: Galerie Paul Rosenberg, 1937, no. 11. (Published as "Femme à la robe violette et anemones")

Baltimore Museum of Art, "A Century of Baltimore Collecting 1840-1940," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1941, p. 84, n.p., ill. (Published as "The Purple Robe")

George Boas, Adelyn D. Breeskin, and J.G. D'Arcy Paul, "Selections from the Cone Collection," "News of The Baltimore Museum of Art," October 1949, vol. 13, no. 1, p. 18.

Alfred H. Barr, Jr., "Matisse: His Art and His Public," New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1951, p. 557.

"The Art of Henri Matisse," Palm Beach, FL: The Society of the Four Arts, 1953, no. 25.

"Matisse: A Rare Collection Record," "Vogue" March 1, 1955, vol. 125, pp. 133, 135, ill. p. 135.

George Boas, Adelyn Breeskin, and Gertrude Rosenthal, "Cone Collection: A Handbook with a Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1955, pp. 7, 37, no. 76, ill.

"The Cone Wing," "News of The Baltimore Museum of Art," March 1957, cover page, ill.

Leslie Judd Portner, "Baltimore Museum Opens New Cone Wing," "The Christian Science Monitor," March 23, 1957, p. 10.

Leslie Judd Portner, "Worthy Home for Cone Collection," "The Washington Post and Times Herald," August 25, 1957, p. E7, ill.

Raymond Escholier, "Matisse: A Portrait of the Artist and the Man," New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1960, pp. 10, 14, 223, no. 50, ill. (Published as "Lydia aux anémones")

Eric Newton, "The Arts of Man: An Anthology and Interpretation of Great Works of Art," Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society, 1960, pp. 258-260, ill. p. 259.

"The World of Art: A Study of Painting," Chicago: Field Enterprises Educational Corporation, 1965, p. 50, ill.

George Boas, Adelyn Breeskin, and Gertrude Rosenthal, "Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings in the Cone Collection," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1967, pp. 25, 67, no. 73, cover page, ill.

K. R. Greenfield, "The Museum Its First Half Century," "Annual I," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1966, p. 83, ill.

Baltimore Museum of Art. Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings in the Cone Collection. Revised edition. Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Museum of Art, 1967, cover (detail) and page 25, no. 73.

Jean Guichard-Meili, "Henri Matisse, Son Oeuvre, Son Univers," Paris: Fernand Hazan Editeur, 1967, pp. 108, 250, fig. 102, ill. (Published as "La robe violette")

Jean Guichard-Meili, "Matisse," New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1967, p. 248, no. 102, ill. (Published as "Mauve Dress")

Remigius Netzer, "Er Gab der Farbe Neuen Glanz: Henri Matisse," "Epoca," August 1968, no. 8, p. 39, ill. (Published as "Das violette Kleid")

"Entertainment," "Omaha World-Herald Magazine," October 10, 1971, p. 1, ill.

William A. McGonagle, "The Thirties Decade: American Artists and their European Contemporaries," Omaha, NE: Joslyn Art Museum, 1971, pp. 34, 68, no. 143, ill.

Makoto Ooka, "Bonnard/Matisse," Tokyo: Jahuo Press, 1972, p. 67.

The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Cone Collection from The Baltimore Museum of Art: A Benefit Exhibition at Wildenstein," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1974, no. 36.

"Masterpieces or World Art from American Museums from Ancient Egyptian to Contemporary Art," Tokyo: The National Museum of Western Art, 1976, no. 55, ill.

Israel Rosen, "The Cone Sisters: Myths, Realities and Some Conjectures," "Helicon Nine, the Journal of Women's Arts and Letters," Winter 1983, no. 9, p. 85.

Graham Hopwood, "Handbook of Art," North Balwyn, Victoria, Australia: Graham Hopwood, 1985, p. 115, fig. 380, ill.

Brenda Richardson, "Dr. Claribel & Miss Etta: The Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1985, pp. 32, 94-95, 190, 202, pp. 32, 95, ill.

Lydia Delectorskaya, "…l'apparente facilité…Henri Matisse, Peintures de 1935-1939," Paris: Adrien Maeght, 1986, pp. 31, 216, ill. p. 216. (Published as "La Robe Violette aux Anemones")

Guy Hubbard, "Art in Action," Chicago: Coronado Publishers, 1986, pp. 111, 260, p. 111, ill.

Dean M. Larson, "Studying with the Masters: Lessons from Rubens, Velazquez, Turner, Degas, Monet, Sargent, Matisse," New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1986, p. 130, ill.

Jacqueline and Maurice Guillaud, "Matisse: Le Rythme et la Ligne," Paris: Guillaud Editions, 1987, p. 312, ill.

Lisa Malcolm and Sally Dewar, "About Art," Marrickville, New South Wales, Australia, 1989, p. 52, ill. p. 53.

"Modern-Art Exhibit Typifies Symbiotic Relationship," "Beaumont Enterprise," December 17, 1993, ill. p. 4.

"Van Gogh to Matisse: Impressionist and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection, The Baltimore Museum of Art," "MFA Today," November/December 1993, p. 3.

Susan Chadwick, "An Eye for Art," "The Houston Post," November 21, 1993, p. 16, ill. p. 16.

Patricia C. Johnson, "MFA to Exhibit Cone Collection," "The Houston Chronicle," June 2, 1993, Section D.

Susie Kalil, "The Joy of Color, the Ecstasy of Form," "Houston Press," December 23, 1993, p. 27.

Peggy Roalf, "Looking at Paintings: Flowers," New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 1993, pp. 36-37, 48, ill. p. 37.

Guy-Patrice and Michel Dauberville, "Henri Matisse Chez Bernheim-Jeune, vols. 1-2" Paris: Éditions Bernheim-Jeune, 1995, pp. 1357, 1444, no. 743, ill. (Published as "Les anémones et la femme à la robe violette")

E. D. Hirsch, Jr., and John Holdren, "What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know: Preparing your Child for a Lifetime for Learning," New York: Doubleday, 1996, pp. 162, 288, p. 162, ill.

Nobuyuki Senzoku and Akira Tomita, "Matisse and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," Tokyo: Brain Trust Inc., 1996, pp. 42, 94-95, 159, back cover, no. 38, ill.

Yve-Alain Bois, "Matisse and Picasso," Paris: Flammarion, 1998, pp. 112, 266.

Rosalind Ragans, "SRA Art Connections, Level 3," Columbus, OH: SRA McGraw-Hill, 1998, n.p., ill.

John O'Brian, "Ruthless Hedonism: The American Reception of Matisse," Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1999, pp. 52, 53, 279, fig. 20, ill.

Sona K. Johnston and William R. Johnston, "The Triumph of French Painting: Masterpieces from Ingres to Matisse," London: Scala Publishers, 2000, pp. cover, front flap, 35, 152-153, 156, no. 57, ill.

Rosalind Ragans, "Art Talk, Third Edition" New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2000, p. 24, fig. 2.1, ill.

Charles Darwent, "Double Vision," "The Independent," June 17, 2001, pp. 18, 21.

Jack Flam, "Matisse in the Cone Collection: The Poetics of Vision," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2001, pp. 9, 50, 106-107, 116, pl. 47, ill.

Valakos, Dorothy. Matisse for Kids. Brochure. Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Museum of Art, 2001, unpaged.

Eric M. Zafran, "Impressionism to Surrealism from The Baltimore Museum of Art," Hartford: Wadsworth Atheneum, 2002, pp. 9, 19, cover page, no. 32, ill.

William Zimmer, "Following the Path of Gertrude Stein," "The New York Times," Sunday, February 17, 2002, section 14CN, p. 13, ill. p. 13.

Kay Alexander, "Drawing and Painting Activities: Using Masterworks as Inspiration," Glenview, IL: Crystal Productions Co., 2003, p. 54, ill.

Ann Dumas, Kathleen Brunner, Jack Flam, Rémi Labrusse, Hilary Spurling and Dominique Szymusiak, "Matisse, His Art and His Textiles: The Fabric of Dreams," London: Royal Academy of Arts, 2004, pp. 130, 186, 212, no. 43, ill.

"The Fabric of Dreams: Matisse, his Art and his Textiles," "The New York Times," July 12, 2005, p. A9, ill.

Donald Miller, "A Coup for Naples," "Naples Daily News," February 4, 2005, p. D1, ill.

"Programs & Special Events," "BMA Today," Fall 2008, p. 15, ill.

Ellen B. Hirschland and Nancy Hirschland Ramage, "The Cone Sisters of Baltimore: Collecting at Full Tilt," Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 2008, pp. 147, 165-168, 277, fig. 7.14, ill.

Sean Scully, "The Art of the Stripe," Hanover, NH: Dartmouth College, 2008, pp. 1-2, 129, p. 1, ill.

Dominique Szymusiak, Marie-Thérèse Pulvenis de Séligny, Wanda de Guébriant, Irina Antonova, "Lydia D. Lydia Delectorskaya, Muse et Modèle de Matisse," Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 2010, pp. 130-131, 214, p. 131, ill. (Published as "Robe violette et anemones")

Fillion, Susan. Miss Etta and Dr. Claribel: Bringing Matisse to America. Boston: David R. Godine, 2011, page 31.

Baltimore Museum of Art. The Baltimore Museum of Art: Celebrating a Museum. Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2014.

Gaude, Alexander, Ann-Katrin Hahn, Markus Müller, and Marie-Thérèse Pulvenis de Seligny. Henri Matisse: Nice, le rêve des odalisques: [exhibition, Nice, Musée Matisse, 21 juin - 29 septembre 2014]. Cologne: Wienand; [Antwerp]: Pandora Publishers, 2014, page 126, fig. 13 (published as “Robe mauve et anémones”).

Christie’s London. Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale. Tuesday February 28, 2017. London, 2017, p. 62, lot 13, ill.

Core Knowledge Foundation. Art Resources: Kindergarten. Charlottesville, VA: Core Knowldege Foundation, 2020. illus. #6

Cozzi, Leslie and Katherine Rothkopf, eds., "A Modern Influence: Henri Matisse, Etta Cone, and Baltimore." Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2021. ill.

Inscribed: Recto: Lower right, "Henri Matisse 37" Verso: The painting has been wax lined and there are no visible inscriptions on the verso.