Known for producing images with dynamic compositions and vibrant color schemes, Henri Matisse is often recognized as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. His career spanned almost six and a half decades. Matisse’s oeuvre includes paintings, sculptures, drawings, and paper cut-outs and encompasses a great number of subjects ranging from landscapes and still lifes to domestic and studio interiors. Initially, Matisse pursued a career in law, and did not seek an education in art until he moved to Paris in 1891. At first, he followed the traditional 19th-century academic path, attending the École des Beaux-Arts (1892), a school known for promoting classical, conservative painting styles. However, as Matisse explored the revolutionary artistic movements active in Paris at the end of the 20th century, he came under the influence of Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist artists and began to combine their bold juxtapositions of color with new kinds of brushwork, light sources, and compositional strategies.

 

In 1917, Matisse moved to Southern France to distance himself from the sweep of World War I. During his stay in Nice (1917-1930), his primary subject became the female figure, shown without clothes or dressed in costume. Nude with Raised Arms in Armchair exemplifies his work with the female form during this period. In this lithograph, Matisse illustrates a female figure sitting in a chair with both arms raised above her head. She wears no clothing, and her hair is pulled back, prominently displaying her breasts and midsection. The woman’s left leg bends, while her right leg crosses over her left foot and drapes over the front of the chair. 

 

Though the print does not include the vibrant colors Matisse was known for, it does demonstrate the artist’s tendency to portray female nudes in an intimate, domestic interior, frequently set up by Matisse himself. In 1922, Matisse began to work in lithography, often producing images much like Nude With Raised Arms. By the end of 1925, he had produced about fifty prints, averaging around ten a year. In order to create Nude with Raised Arms, Matisse would have used a metal plate to transfer his image onto a blank sheet of paper. Though printmaking never became a great source of revenue for him, Matisse continued to make prints throughout the rest of his career. Matisse placed great value on experimenting with a variety of art-making processes. As he stated in an interview with art historian Ragnar Hoppe in 1919, “When you have achieved what you want in a certain area, you must, when the time comes, change course, and search for something new… One must always keep one’s eye, one’s feeling fresh; one must follow one’s instincts.” 

 

Hannah Augst ‘17

Curatorial Summer Intern 2015, Davis Museum