Henri Matisse
Study for ‘The Blue Eyes’
1935
Scroll
Henri Matisse
Study for ‘The Blue Eyes’
1935
Physical Qualities
Graphite with erasing on two joined sheets of paper, Sheet: 438 × 508 mm. (17 1/4 × 20 in.)
Credit Line
The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland
Object Number
1950.12.49
Matisse welcomed the compositional challenge of relating heads, arms, and elbows to the edge of the paper or canvas. The strip added to the top of this drawing allowed him to reposition the head and extend the arm straight so that it runs nearly parallel to the edge of the paper from elbow to fingers.
Model Resting on Her Arms revisits a theme from the earlier painting The Blue Eyes that interested Matisse and warranted further exploration. In the painting, however, the model’s lower arm approaches the side of the canvas at an angle, nearly bisecting its edge with the elbow, creating a very different composition.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by bequest, 1949; Etta Cone, Baltimore; purchased from the artist, 1936
BMA, Cone Wing rotation, 5 February - 24 June 2007.
BMA, Cone Wing rotation, 17 August 2004 - 11 January 2005.
Kim Schenck, BMA Cone Wing exh, "Matisse: Drawing Defined," 21 August - 10 November 2002.
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 from the Baltimore Museum," October 1991- January 1992.
Jay Fisher, BMA, "Master Drawings by French Artists in the Museum's Collection," 9 May - 23 July, 1989.
Victor Carlson, BMA, "The Spirited Line," 7 September - 2 November 1986.
"Matisse Drawings," Arts Council of Great Britain, Hayward Gallery (October 3, 1984- January 6, 1985); The Museum of Modern Art, NY (February 27- May 14, 1985), cat 81.
"Matisse, 1869-1954," National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (30 March - 17 May 1981), National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (26 May - 19 July 1981), cat. 128.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY, "Matisse in the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," 24 August - 14 October 1979.
Etablissement Public de Centre Beaubourg, Paris, "Dessins de Matisse," 29 May - 14 September 1975.
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. 58.
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.
BMA, Cone Wing rotation, 17 August 2004 - 11 January 2005.
Kim Schenck, BMA Cone Wing exh, "Matisse: Drawing Defined," 21 August - 10 November 2002.
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 from the Baltimore Museum," October 1991- January 1992.
Jay Fisher, BMA, "Master Drawings by French Artists in the Museum's Collection," 9 May - 23 July, 1989.
Victor Carlson, BMA, "The Spirited Line," 7 September - 2 November 1986.
"Matisse Drawings," Arts Council of Great Britain, Hayward Gallery (October 3, 1984- January 6, 1985); The Museum of Modern Art, NY (February 27- May 14, 1985), cat 81.
"Matisse, 1869-1954," National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (30 March - 17 May 1981), National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (26 May - 19 July 1981), cat. 128.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY, "Matisse in the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," 24 August - 14 October 1979.
Etablissement Public de Centre Beaubourg, Paris, "Dessins de Matisse," 29 May - 14 September 1975.
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. 58.
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.
"Minotaure" (no. 9, October 1936), p. 2.
Gianni Testori, "Henri Matisse-25 Disegni" (Milan: Gorlich, 1943).
"Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings in the Cone Collection," BMA rev ed. 1967, cat 278, (not illus).
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 134, plate 92.
The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, ed., Matisse: 20 March - 17 May, 1981, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo: 26 May - 19 July, 1981, the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto. Tokyo: National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 1981, pp. 142, 234-235, no. 128.
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 172, plate 48.
Brenda Richardson. "Dr. Claribel & Miss Etta," 1985, p. 133.
Dr. Betty Edwards, "Drawing on the Artist Within," NY: Simon & Schuster, 1986.
Guillaud, Maurice, and Jacqueline Guillaud. Matisse: le rythme et la ligne. Paris: Guillaud Editions, 1987, plate no. 301 (published as “Etude pour ‘Les yeux bleus”).
Isabelle Monod-Fontaine, "Matisse : Le Rêve out les belles endormies," Paris: Adam Biro, 1989, fig. 3.
Jeans Selz, "Matisse" (NY: Crown Publishers, 1990), illus. p. 75.
Fillion, Susan. Miss Etta and Dr. Claribel: Bringing Matisse to America. Boston: David R. Godine, 2011, page 55.
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 right in graphite: "Henri Matisse / 1936"
Markings: WM: MBM
