Odalisque Seated with Arms Raised, Green Striped Chair

1923

Henri Matisse

Associated Names
Henri Matisse

Artist, French, 1869 - 1954

A nearly nude woman with a pale, pink complexion leans back into a striped, upholstered chair with her arms overhead, holding opposite elbows, and one foot tucked under her in this stylized, vertical painting. The scene is painted loosely, making some details indistinct. The woman’s torso faces us but her legs are angled slightly to our right, and she looks off in that direction with dark brown eyes under dark, arched brows. Her features are loosely painted but she seems to have a straight nose and her small, scarlet-red mouth is closed. Her dark brown hair curls down to her ears in a chin-length bob. She wears only a gauzy, transparent cloth, which is gathered low on her hips with a golden-brown belt. Loosely painted, short and zigzag strokes of chocolate brown and harvest gold suggest a wide band of embroidery or decoration around the bottom hem. The woman’s raised arms show two tufts of dark brown hair in her armpits. She has round breasts with dark pink nipples, and a curving belly and hips. Her left knee, farther from us, is bent sharply against the back of the chair so her foot is tucked behind her other thigh. The chair is striped with lime green, white, and lemon yellow. The floor is terracotta orange. A strip of light blue with a gold pattern to the left and a red area with a flower pattern to our right suggest fabrics draped on the sand-brown wall. The artist signed the work in the lower left corner, "Henri Matisse."
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Chester Dale Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 65.1 x 50.2 cm (25 5/8 x 19 3/4 in.)
    framed: 89.5 x 74.9 cm (35 1/4 x 29 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1963.10.167

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Sold 30 March 1923 by the artist to private collection of Josse and Gaston Bernheim-Jeune, Paris; in 1923 to the (Galerie Bernheim-Jeune);[1] sold 1928 to (Galerie Étienne Bignou, Paris); sold 1929 to Chester Dale [1883-1962], New York; bequest 1963 to NGA.
[1]See Guy-Patrice and Michel Dauberville, Henri Matisse Chez Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 1995, volume 2, no. 580.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1923

  • Exposition Henri-Matisse, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, April 1923

1930

  • Painting in Paris from American Collections, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1930, no. 60

1931

  • Renoir and His Tradition, Museum of French Art, New York, 1931, no. 25 as Odalisque aux bras levés.

  • Henri Matisse, Galeries Georges Petit, Paris, 1931, no. 103, repro. as Odalisque aux bras levés.

1943

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection, Art Institute of Chicago, 1943-1952 (extended loan), unnumbered catalogue, repro. p. 32

1952

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1952, no. 39, repro.

1965

  • The Chester Dale Bequest, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1965, unnumbered checklist.

1986

  • Henri Matisse: The Early Years in Nice 1916-1930, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1986-1987, no. 113, repro.

2010

  • From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, January 2010-January 2012, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

Bibliography

1943

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1943:, 32, repro., as Odalisque with Raised Arms.

1952

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1952 (2nd ed., 1960; rev. ed., 1965): 39, color repro., as Odalisque with Raised Arms.

  • McBride. Henry. "Chesterdale's Way." Art News 51, no. 9 (December 1952):19, repro.

1960

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1960 (2nd ed.): 41, color repro., as Odalisque with Raised Arms.

1965

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings & Sculpture of the French School in the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965 (rev. ed.): 51, repro., as Odalisque with Raised Arms.

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 88, as Odalisque with Raised Arms.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 77, repro., as Odalisque with Raised Arms.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 228, repro., as Odalisque with Raised Arms.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 594, no. 922, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 261, repro.

1997

  • The Collection of Victor and Sally Ganz, Christie's, New York, 1997, 133, no. 14, repro.

Inscriptions

lower left: Henri Matisse

Wikidata ID

Q16990982

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