Matisse created this drawing in black chalk, smoothing it into the paper with a stump, an implement usually formed of a small pad of soft leather or paper, to produce soft shadow. Although created as a study for an oil painting, this drawing is satisfying as a finished work in itself.

Drawing the human figure from life remained fundamental to Matisse’s practice throughout his career. Though he had a grounding in rigorous academic training, including studying in the class of the popular Salon painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau, his life drawings are far from traditional. In this sheet, a young woman wearing a simple, collared shirt sits with her arms crossed in a relaxed manner against her body in a composition that elegantly elevates the ordinary. Her pose is neither confrontational nor guarded. Sitting close to the picture plane, she looks directly out at the viewer but without making direct eye contact, appearing lost in her own world. The striped wall that frames her torso and the table she leans on evoke a domestic interior while lending a certain rigid formality to the picture. This sense of order is echoed by Matisse’s markmaking: instead of extensively working up the drawing to the high level of finish encouraged by Salon artists, Matisse synthesised forms to precise and deliberate outlines. He used black chalk to create a drawing of rich tonal range. A stump, a cigar-shaped roll of paper or leather, has been used to smudge the chalk. This softens the drawing while subtly rendering the fall of light on the model’s skin, particularly her delicately modelled face with her asymmetrical nose, high cheekbones and slightly pursed lips. Matisse’s eye for keenly observed details lends his sitter a real sense of presence, restrained dignity and gravitas.

Independent Gallery (London); purchased there by Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill (1898-1956), 28 January 1927 (as 'Matisse Drawing Portrait Small'); purchased from him by the Independent Gallery (London), 16 February 1928 (£75); purchased there by Samuel Courtauld, London (1876-1947), 11 April 1928 (£80, as 'Matisse Drawing Portrait'); Courtauld Gift 1935

The Courtauld Collection. A Vision for Impressionism, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris, 20/02/2019-17/06/2019

Special Display - Picasso, Matisse, Maillol: The Female Model, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 24/01/2013-26/05/2013

Draw: conversations around the legacy of drawing, mima (Middlesborough Institutue of Modern Art), Middlesborough, 26/01/2007-11/04/2007 ...More

Salmon, Dimitri, Percy Moore Turner, Précieux Conseiller de Samuel and Elizabeth Courtauld, Fondation Louis Vuitton 2019
pp. 33, 34n155, 36, 37n166, no. 39 on p. 76
illus. no. 39 on p. 76

Serres, Karen (ed.), The Courtauld Collection: A Vision for Impressionism, Paul Holberton Publishing 2019
no. 85, pp. 234-235
illus. p. 325

Draw: conversations around the legacy of drawing, mima, Middlesborough, 2007
p. 185
illus. p. 185 ...More

Watermark: none.

Inscription: Recto: lower left corner, graphite, former acc. no. “51.35”; lower right corner, graphite, signed: “Henri – Matisse”. Verso: upper left edge, blue crayon: “1”; upper right corner, graphite: “aj”; lower left corner, graphite: “22 x 16”.

Collector's mark: none.