Odalisque with Gray Trousers by Matisse in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 2008

Artist: Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954)

Title: Odalisque with Gray Trousers

Date: 1927

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: H. 25-5/8, W. 32 inches (65.1 x 81.3 cm.)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: The Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg Collection, Gift of Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg, 1997, Bequest of Walter H. Annenberg, 2002

Accession Number: 1997.400


Description:

Notwithstanding their kinship with earlier works by Ingres and Delacroix, the harem pictures Matisse made in Nice, such as this odalisque of 1927, had a more practical basis. As Matisse explained: "I paint odalisques in order to paint the nude. Otherwise, how is the nude to be painted without being artificial? But also, I know they exist. I was in Morocco. I saw them."


Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/modern...