The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 26, 2024

Reclining Odalisque

Reclining Odalisque

c. 1923
(French, 1869–1954)
France, 20th century
graphite
Sheet: 28.2 x 38.5 cm (11 1/8 x 15 3/16 in.)
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1927.300
© Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Henri Matisse was inspired to take up the subject of odalisques after visiting Morocco about a decade before this drawing was made.

Description

During the 1920s, Matisse used various media to represent odalisques -- female slaves or concubines in the harem of a Turkish sultan. Rather than aiming for a realistic representation of these women, however, Matisse used obviously European models, costumed and arranged with Eastern props in his studio. This drawing depicts his favorite sitter during this period, a French woman named Henriette Darricarrère, who appears in culottes with her arms raised behind her head. Matisse made marks with pencil that he then changed and strengthened as he worked, carefully but quickly constructing the figure with soft, rounded forms. He smeared the graphite in places to model and shade with a variety of tones.
  • 1923-May 13, 1925
    Henri Matisse, sold to Bernheim Jeune & Co., Paris
    May 13, 1925-May 17, 1927
    (Bernheim-Jeune & Co., Paris, sold to C. W. Kraushaar Art Galleries, New York, NY)
    1927
    (C. W. Kraushaar Art Galleries, New York, NY, sold to Print Club of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH)
    1927
    Print Club of Cleveland, given to Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    1927-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • "Accessions - Gifts." Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 15 (January 1928): 16. Mentioned: p. 16
    Dauberville, Guy-Patrice and Michel Dauberville. Matisse. Paris: Editions Bernheim-Jeune, 1995. Mentioned and reproduced: vol. 2, p. 1247, no. 652
    DeGrazia, Diane, and Carter E. Foster. Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Exh. Cat. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000. Mentioned: pp. 250-251, p. 296; Reproduced: p. 251
  • Impressionism to Modernism: The Keithley Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 11, 2022-January 8, 2023).
    Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000); The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY (May 23-August 19, 2001); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (October 14, 2001-January 6, 2002).
    French Drawings from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 13, 1994-March 12, 1995).
    Directions in Drawing II: The Human Figure. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 5, 1991-January 12, 1992).
    Prints and Drawings, 1916-1965. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 20-July 24, 1966).
    French Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 16, 1965-February 16, 1966).
    Henri Matisse. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 5-March 16, 1952).
    Drawings by Henri Matisse. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 29-April 24, 1949).
    19th and 20th Century French Art and Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Loans. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 22-September 1, 1943).
    Drawings from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 17-August 24, 1942).
    French Drawings and Watercolors from French Public and Private Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 6-February 15, 1942).
    Drawings from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 22-October 26, 1941).
    Drawings from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 4-April 27, 1941).
    Drawings from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 11-October 3, 1940).
    Old Master Drawings from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 4-March 26, 1939).
    Exhibition of Oils by Henri Matisse. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 11-December 18, 1938).
    Drawings from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 28-December 9, 1937).
    French Art Since Eighteen Hundred. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 8-December 8, 1929).
  • {{cite web|title=Reclining Odalisque|url=false|author=Henri Matisse|year=c. 1923|access-date=26 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1927.300