1937, Henri Matisse, Purple Robe and Anemones -- Baltimore Museum of Art
From the museum label: Lydia Delectorskaya, Matisse's Russian studio assistant and muse, was the model for Purple Robe and Anemones. Lydia sits quietly amid a wild explosion of color and line, as Matisse balances competing patterns and contours of warm and cool tones. The painting is alive with energy, as the lines in her robe echo the patterns on the wall behind her and the jug in the foreground. In some areas of the composition, such as in the purple robe, the artist uses a scraping technique to form stripes. In other parts, such as the decorative elements of the table in the foreground, he uses paint to describe the pattern. Matisse was apparently very fond of this elegant purple robe, since he made several paintings in which a model wears it in a similar setting. Throughout his life, Matisse filled his studio with lush flowers, North African furnishings, and exotic fabrics. He delighted in including these elements in his paintings, using them to evoke a mood of ease and voluptuousness.
Link to a high-resolution close-up photo of details from this painting.
1937, Henri Matisse, Purple Robe and Anemones -- Baltimore Museum of Art
From the museum label: Lydia Delectorskaya, Matisse's Russian studio assistant and muse, was the model for Purple Robe and Anemones. Lydia sits quietly amid a wild explosion of color and line, as Matisse balances competing patterns and contours of warm and cool tones. The painting is alive with energy, as the lines in her robe echo the patterns on the wall behind her and the jug in the foreground. In some areas of the composition, such as in the purple robe, the artist uses a scraping technique to form stripes. In other parts, such as the decorative elements of the table in the foreground, he uses paint to describe the pattern. Matisse was apparently very fond of this elegant purple robe, since he made several paintings in which a model wears it in a similar setting. Throughout his life, Matisse filled his studio with lush flowers, North African furnishings, and exotic fabrics. He delighted in including these elements in his paintings, using them to evoke a mood of ease and voluptuousness.
Link to a high-resolution close-up photo of details from this painting.