Henri Matisse and Henri Matisse, Presentation Maquette, Poésies de Stéphane Mallarmé
Study for “La Chevelure”
1930-1931
Scroll
Study for “La Chevelure”
1930-1931
Physical Qualities
Graphite with erasing on paper (recto); graphite (verso), Sheet: 330 x 259 mm. (13 x 10 3/16 in.)
Mat 20" x 16"
Credit Line
The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland
Object Number
1950.12.739
This drawing of a woman’s head seen laying down and crowned by an exuberance of flowing locks is one of the maquette’s most lush and instructive images. On the front of the sheet, Matisse has carefully depicted each individual strand of hair with light pencil strokes. On the reverse, we see only a schematic tracing of its curls. Matisse typically used these tracings to refine his design and practice “the art of eliminating” in order to minimize unnecessary detail in the finished version.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by bequest of Etta Cone, 1949; Etta Cone, Baltimore, MD by purchase, 1931-33; the artist
Kim Schenck, The Baltimore Museum of Art, 'Matisse: Drawing Defined', Aug. 21-Nov. 10, 2002.
BMA, "Henri Matisse: The Spirited Line--Works on Paper, 1898-1950, from the Museum Collection," 7 September - 2 November 1986.
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, "Henri Matisse: The Spirited Line--Works on Paper, 1898-1950, from the Museum Collection," 7 September - 2 November 1986.
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.
Cozzi, Leslie and Katherine Rothkopf (eds). "A Modern Influence: Henri Matisse, Etta Cone, and Baltimore." Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2021. ill.
Bois, Yve-Alain, ed. Matisse in the Barnes Foundation, vol. 1. Philadelphia: Barnes Foundation, 2015, p. 128, fig. 42.
"The Baltimore Museum of Art: Celebrating a Museum," The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2014, p. 213-14.
Sale cat, Sotheby's, London, 1 April 2008, lot 32 (comparative illustration).
Sarda, Marie-Anne. Matisse et Mallarmé. Vulaines-sur-Seine: Musée départemental Stéphane Mallarmé, 2002, page 131, fig. 52 (published as “La Chevelure, ètude pour Poésies de Stéphane Mallarmé”).
Néret, Gilles. Henri Matisse. Köln; New York: Taschen, [1999], page 158 (published as “Hair, Study for the Book of Poems by Stéphane Mallarmé”).
Néret, Gilles. Matisse. [Place of publication not identified]: Konecky & Konecky, 1993, p. 154, no. 237 (published as “Swan”).
Monod-Fontaine, Isabelle. Matisse: le rêve, ou, les belles endormies. Paris: Adam Biro, 1989, p. 44.
Schneider, Pierre. Matisse. New York: Rizzoli, 1984, page 579 (published as “‘La Chevelure,’ study for the ‘Poésies de Stéphane Mallarmé’”).
Musée National d'Art Moderne. Henri Matisse: Dessins et Sculpture: Musée National d'Art Moderne, 29 Mai - 7 Septembre 1975. [Paris]: Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, 1975, ill. page 127, plate 85.
Cone, Etta. The Cone Collection of Baltimore, Maryland: Catalogue of Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. [Baltimore, MD]: [Etta Cone], 1934, plate 92.
Inscribed: upper right in graphite: "Henri Matisse"
Markings: Chopmark: MALLARME ET MATISSE
