Detail of Carmelina by Matisse in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, June 2010

Carmelina
1903
Henri Matisse, French, 1869–1954

Dimensions: 81.3 x 59 cm (32 x 23 1/4 in.)

Material: Oil on canvas

Classification: Paintings
Type: Portrait - Double; Self - Male; Female; Figure; Nude

Accession Number: RES.32.14

Matisse represented the female nude many times, both in painting and in sculpture. In this striking early work, the rounded forms of Carmelina's body, strongly modeled in light and dark, stand out almost in relief against the pattern of rectangular shapes behind her. The subject of the nude, usually relaxed and seductive, here becomes a confrontation between the boldly posed model and the artist, who is visible in the mirror at the back of the studio.

Text from: www.mfa.org/collections/object/carmelina-32429