Henri Matisse
Two Negresses
1907
Scroll
Henri Matisse
Two Negresses
1907
Physical Qualities
Bronze, 18 3/8 x 9 3/4 x 8 in. (46.7 x 24.8 x 20.3 cm.)
Credit Line
The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland
Object Number
1950.430
Originally titled Two Negresses, the composition for this sculpture was based on a photograph of two young Tuareg women (photo) published in the pseudo-ethnographic journal “L’Humanité Féminine.” Matisse may have been attracted to this particular image for what he would have seen as the striking sensuality of the young women, but at this time he was also interested in the challenge of using photographs as inspiration for his sculpture. The pose in this bronze is extremely faithful to the original, but Matisse has given the bodies more weight, enhancing the sense of monumentality.
See Text Entries for image used on label
The Baltimore Museum of Art by bequest, 1949; Etta Cone, Baltimore, by purchase from the artist, 1931.
"The Cone Collection", M. Knoedler & Co., New York, January 24-February 19, 1955.
"African Art and the School of Paris", Colgate University, April 15-May 8,1966, cat. # 10.
"Dimensions in Black", La Jolla Museum of Art, and University of California, San Diego, February 14-March 29, 1970.
"Four Americans in Paris: The Collection of Gertrude Stein and her Family", MOMA, December 18, 1970-March 1, 1971; The Baltimore Museum of Art, April 4-June 13, 1971; San Francisco Museum of Art, September 15-October 31, 1971.
"Pioneers of Modern Sculpture", Arts Council of Great Britain, Hayward Gallery, July 20- September 23, 1973.
"Cone Collection", Wildenstein Gallery, New York, March 29-May 4, 1974.
Brenda Richardson, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, "Matisse in The Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", August 24-October 14, 1979.
"The Spirit of Appreciation: Masterpieces from the Cone Collection", BMA produced, circulated to Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October 6-November 24, 1985; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, December 14-February 9, 1986.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, "Van Gogh to Matisse: Impressionist and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection", The Baltimore Museum of Art, November 21, 1993-January 30, 1994.
"Matisse and Modern Masters from The Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo, October 3-December 28, 1996; Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, Osaka, January 8-February 11, 1997.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Denver Art Museum, "Matisse from The Baltimore Museum of Art", March 11, 2000-June 25, 2000; circulated to the Birmingham Museum of Art, July 23, 2000-September 17, 2000; The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, October 10, 2000-January 28, 2001.
Dorothy Kosinski, Jay McKean Fisher, Steven Nash; BMA, Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, "Matisse: Painter as Sculptor", Dallas, January 21-April 29, 2007; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, June 9-September 16, 2007; The Baltimore Museum of Art, October 28, 2007-February 3, 2008, shown BMA only.
Katy Rothkopf, BMA, "Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore", circulated to The Jewish Museum, New York, 6 May-25 September 2011, Vancouver Art Gallery, 2 June-23 September 2012, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, 3 November 2012-10 February 2013.
"African Art and the School of Paris", Colgate University, April 15-May 8,1966, cat. # 10.
"Dimensions in Black", La Jolla Museum of Art, and University of California, San Diego, February 14-March 29, 1970.
"Four Americans in Paris: The Collection of Gertrude Stein and her Family", MOMA, December 18, 1970-March 1, 1971; The Baltimore Museum of Art, April 4-June 13, 1971; San Francisco Museum of Art, September 15-October 31, 1971.
"Pioneers of Modern Sculpture", Arts Council of Great Britain, Hayward Gallery, July 20- September 23, 1973.
"Cone Collection", Wildenstein Gallery, New York, March 29-May 4, 1974.
Brenda Richardson, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, "Matisse in The Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", August 24-October 14, 1979.
"The Spirit of Appreciation: Masterpieces from the Cone Collection", BMA produced, circulated to Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October 6-November 24, 1985; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, December 14-February 9, 1986.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, "Van Gogh to Matisse: Impressionist and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection", The Baltimore Museum of Art, November 21, 1993-January 30, 1994.
"Matisse and Modern Masters from The Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo, October 3-December 28, 1996; Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, Osaka, January 8-February 11, 1997.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Denver Art Museum, "Matisse from The Baltimore Museum of Art", March 11, 2000-June 25, 2000; circulated to the Birmingham Museum of Art, July 23, 2000-September 17, 2000; The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, October 10, 2000-January 28, 2001.
Dorothy Kosinski, Jay McKean Fisher, Steven Nash; BMA, Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, "Matisse: Painter as Sculptor", Dallas, January 21-April 29, 2007; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, June 9-September 16, 2007; The Baltimore Museum of Art, October 28, 2007-February 3, 2008, shown BMA only.
Katy Rothkopf, BMA, "Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore", circulated to The Jewish Museum, New York, 6 May-25 September 2011, Vancouver Art Gallery, 2 June-23 September 2012, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, 3 November 2012-10 February 2013.
G. Poulain, 'Sculptures de Henri Matisse,' "Formes," No. IX, Nov. 1930, p. 10.
Etta Cone, "The Cone Collection of Baltimore, Maryland" (Baltimore: 1934) plate. # 120b.
'Cone Bequest,' "BMA News," Oct. 1949, no. 117.
Alfred H. Barr, Jr., "Matisse: His Art and His Public," (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1951) 138-41, 179, ill p. 366.
"Handbook of the Cone Collection," (Baltimore: BMA, 1955) 45, no. 152.
"Handbook of the Cone Collection, Revised Edition," (Baltimore: BMA, 1967) 50, no. 141.
Albert Elsen, 'The Sculpture of Matisse, Part III: Primitivism, Partial Figures and Portraits,' "Art Forum," 7: 3, 1968 ill. p. 26.
Albert Elsen, "The Sculpture of Matisse," (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1972) 83-87.
Alicia Legg, "The Sculpture of Matisse," (New York: MOMA, 1972) 23.
Gowing, Lawrence. Matisse. Revised ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979, page 80, fig. 61 (published as “Les deux négresses (The Two Negresses)”).
William Rubin, ed, "Primitivism in 20th Century Art," (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1984) vol. I, 226.
Isabelle Monod-Fontaine, "The Sculpture of Henri Matisse," (London: The Arts Council of Great Britain, 1984) cat. # 28a.
Jack Flam, "Matisse The Man and His Art 1869-1918," (Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press, 1986) 236-38, 241.
Hugh Honour, "The Image of the Black in Western Art," (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1989) 235, 290.
Ernst-Gerhard Güse, "Henri Matisse: Drawings and Sculpture" (Munich: Prestel, 1991) cat. # 111.
Senzoku, Nobuyuki, ed. Matisse and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art = Kon korekushon ten. [Tokyo]: "Kon Korekushon" Ten Katarogu Iinkai, 1996, pages 116-117, no. 61.
Jack Flam, "Matisse in The Cone Collection The Poetics of Vision," (Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2001), pl. 12, p. 45, ill.
Kosinski, Dorothy, Jay McKean Fisher, and Steven Nash. Matisse: Painter as Sculptor. Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Museum of Art; Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art: Nasher Sculpture Center; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007, page 84, fig. 82, (published as “Two Negresses”).
Karen Levitov, "Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore," New York: The Jewish Museum, 2011, pp. 54, 76, pl. 31, ill.
Brown, Kathryn. Henri Matisse. London: Reaktion Books, 2021, p. 65, ill.
Cozzi, Leslie and Katherine Rothkopf (eds). "A Modern Influence: Henri Matisse, Etta Cone, and Baltimore." Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2021. ill.
Brown, Kathryn. Henri Matisse. London: Reaktion Books, 2021, page 65.
Hauser and Wirth. "Amy Sherald: The World We Make." London: Hauser & Wirth Publishers, 2022. ill., p. 123.
Inscribed: "Henri Matisse /10" cast through. "HM 4/10" much crisper on top of base.
Markings: "Cire C. Valsuani Perdue"
On View at the BMA
