Reclining Nude

After moving from Paris to Nice in 1917, Matisse separated himself from the avant-garde and modernist methods of construction that he had been using in grand decorative compositions, and turned to a more naturalistic style with an emphasis on subjects that gave him pleasure. His first years in Nice were dominated by his attention to the nude female form. This drawing probably features Matisse's favorite model between the years 1920 and 1927, Henriette Darricarrère, a musician and ballet dancer. In this work and others from the same period, Matisse explored the mass and balance of seated and reclining female nudes through varying poses.