"Nadia"

Details:

Charcoal on paper, signed and dated "Matisse 48" lower left and titled "Nadia" lower right

43.2 by 33.0 cm (17 by 13 inches)

Provenance:

Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York

Certificate by Wanda de Guebriant dated Paris, July 29, 2004, in which she states that the work was drawn in the summer of 1948 in Paris and is inscribed in the artist's archives as number N 70.

Nadia Sednaoui

Note:

Matisse was introduced to Nadia Sednaoui by his son-in-law. Georges Duthuit met Nadia on a street in Paris, and thought that she would present an interesting model for his father -in-law. Nadia agreed to pose, and modeled for Matisse during the summer of 1948. Several indian ink drawings were made, and this one in charcoal. Neither Nadia nor her mother saw a likeness in the drawings completed by Matisse of his subject, a fact that seemed to please Matisse immensely.

Below, please find an interview with Nadia (in French).