Henri Matisse
Reclining Nude with Arm behind Head
1936
Scroll
Henri Matisse
Reclining Nude with Arm behind Head
1936
Physical Qualities
Charcoal with stumping on paper, Sheet: 380 × 483 mm. (14 15/16 × 19 in.)
Credit Line
The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland
Object Number
1950.12.50
In Reclining Nude with Arm behind Head, Matisse treated the paper like a chalkboard. He repeatedly drew the model with crumbly charcoal and then wiped away the marks with a rag, searching for the line that best captured the essence of the figure’s pose. The marks made from charcoal sticks are composed of tiny, splintery particles that smudge and erase fairly easily, allowing Matisse to revise the form. However, residual bits of charcoal from the earlier lines remain embedded in the paper, leaving evidence of the artist’s modifications and struggle.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by bequest 1949; from Etta Cone, Baltimore, purchased from the artist, August 1937
Queensland Art Gallery, Australia, "Matisse Drawing Life," November 26, 2011 - March 6, 2012, cat. no. 100, p.183.
Kim Schenck, The Baltimore Museum of Art, 'Matisse: Drawing Defined', Aug. 21-Nov. 10, 2002.
Katy Rothkopf, BMA, "Grand Reopening of the Cone Collection," April 22 - July 22, 2001.
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.
Jay Fisher, BMA, "Matisse, Picasso and Friends: Masterworks on Paper from The Cone Collection," 7 June - 27 August, 1995.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, "Masterpieces from The Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," October 1991 - January 1992.
Jay Fisher, BMA, "Master Drawings by French Artists in the Museum's Collection," 9 May - 23 July, 1989.
BMA, "The Spirited Line," 7 September - 2 November 1986.
Arts Council of Great Britain, Hayward Gallery, "Matisse Drawings," 3 October 1984 - 6 January 1985, traveled to Museum of Modern Art, 27 February - 14 May 1985.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY, "Matisse in the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," 24 August - 14 October 1979.
Victor Carlson, BMA, "Matisse as Draughtsman," 12 January - 21 February 1971, traveled to California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 20 March - 9 May 1971, The Art Institute of Chicago, 26 May - 10 July 1971, cat. no. 61.
Knoedler Gallery (Columbia University?), "Great Master Drawings of 7 Centuries," 13 October - 7 November 1959, cat. plate LXXV.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, "Matisse/Diebenkorn". The Baltimore Museum of Art, October 23, 2016 - January 29, 2017. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, March 11, 2017 - May 29, 2017.
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.
Kim Schenck, The Baltimore Museum of Art, 'Matisse: Drawing Defined', Aug. 21-Nov. 10, 2002.
Katy Rothkopf, BMA, "Grand Reopening of the Cone Collection," April 22 - July 22, 2001.
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.
Jay Fisher, BMA, "Matisse, Picasso and Friends: Masterworks on Paper from The Cone Collection," 7 June - 27 August, 1995.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, "Masterpieces from The Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," October 1991 - January 1992.
Jay Fisher, BMA, "Master Drawings by French Artists in the Museum's Collection," 9 May - 23 July, 1989.
BMA, "The Spirited Line," 7 September - 2 November 1986.
Arts Council of Great Britain, Hayward Gallery, "Matisse Drawings," 3 October 1984 - 6 January 1985, traveled to Museum of Modern Art, 27 February - 14 May 1985.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY, "Matisse in the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," 24 August - 14 October 1979.
Victor Carlson, BMA, "Matisse as Draughtsman," 12 January - 21 February 1971, traveled to California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 20 March - 9 May 1971, The Art Institute of Chicago, 26 May - 10 July 1971, cat. no. 61.
Knoedler Gallery (Columbia University?), "Great Master Drawings of 7 Centuries," 13 October - 7 November 1959, cat. plate LXXV.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, "Matisse/Diebenkorn". The Baltimore Museum of Art, October 23, 2016 - January 29, 2017. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, March 11, 2017 - May 29, 2017.
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.
"Painting, Scuplture and Drawings in The Cone Collection," rev ed., 1967, cat. no. 284.
Musée Cantini. 130 dessins de Matisse: [exposition], Musée Cantini, juin - septembre 1974. Marseille: Musée Cantini, 1974, cat no. 53 (published as “Nu couche aux bras leves”).
Elderfield, John. The Drawings of Henri Matisse. New York: Thames and Hudson, published in association with the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Arts Council of Great Britain, 1985, ill. page 203, plate 86.
Albert E. Elsen, "Rodin's Drawings and the Art of Matisse," Arts Magazine, March 1987, p. 38.
Guillaud, Maurice, and Jacqueline Guillaud. Matisse: le rythme et la ligne. Paris: Guillaud Editions, 1987, plate no. 303 (published as “Nu couché”).
Jeans Selz, "Matisse", NY: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1990, p. 72 (illus).
Clint Brown and Cheryl McLean, "Drawing from Life," Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, 1992, p. 96.
The International Review published by The Drawing Society, Vol. XVII, No.1, May - June 1995, p.6, ill.
Peter Steinhart, 'The Undressed Art: Why we draw.' New York: Random House, 2004, p. 155, ill.
Fisher, Jay McKean, et al. The Essence of Line: French drawings from Ingres to Degas. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2005.
Deanna Petheridge, "The Primacy of Drawing: Histories and Theories of Practice," New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010, p. 197, fig 139.
Chicha-Castex, Céline, and Emilie Ovaere-Corthay. Matisse: Drawing Life. South Brisbane, Queensland: Queensland Art Gallery / Gallery of Modern Art, 2011, p. 183.
"The Baltimore Museum of Art: Celebrating a Museum," The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2014, p. 203.
Royal Academy Publications, "Richard Diebenkorn," London: Royal Academy of Arts, 2015, fig. 18, p.47.
Bishop, Janet and Katy Rothkopf eds. Matisse/Diebenkorn. New York: Prestel, 2016.
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 left in charcoal: "Henri Matisse / 37"
Markings: WM: VM FRANCE
