![1922, Henri Matisse, Espagnole (Buste) [The Spanish Woman] -- Auckland Art Gallery | by R.M.Lenox](http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53527070222_d53f438822.jpg)
1922, Henri Matisse, Espagnole (Buste) [The Spanish Woman] -- Auckland Art Gallery
From the gallery label:
Assuming the pose of a thinker, Henriette Darricarrère (1901-1991), Henri Matisse's preferred model from 1920 to 1927, wears the costume elements of a traditional Spanish dancer. While her piercing eyes and pyramidally shaped mantilla are the focal points of this painting, the floral patterning of the scene's backdrop distracts the viewer's gaze with a wealth of optical stimulation. This work was made during Matisse's so-called early Nice period (1917-30). Abandoning the blinding colours and more avant-garde modes of construction of his earlier compositions, the artist during this phase of his career made more naturalistic pictures that focus on the play of light and shadow on different surfaces, evident here in the patchwork modelling on Darricarrere's neck, cheeks and arms.
1922, Henri Matisse, Espagnole (Buste) [The Spanish Woman] -- Auckland Art Gallery
From the gallery label:
Assuming the pose of a thinker, Henriette Darricarrère (1901-1991), Henri Matisse's preferred model from 1920 to 1927, wears the costume elements of a traditional Spanish dancer. While her piercing eyes and pyramidally shaped mantilla are the focal points of this painting, the floral patterning of the scene's backdrop distracts the viewer's gaze with a wealth of optical stimulation. This work was made during Matisse's so-called early Nice period (1917-30). Abandoning the blinding colours and more avant-garde modes of construction of his earlier compositions, the artist during this phase of his career made more naturalistic pictures that focus on the play of light and shadow on different surfaces, evident here in the patchwork modelling on Darricarrere's neck, cheeks and arms.