Matisse, Henri (1869-1954)
Le Peintre dans son atelier (The Painter and His Model)
1916–1917
Oil on canvas, 146.5 x 97 cm
Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris
The window in the artist’s studio is both a crossing point and a metaphor for painting.
Here the painter represents himself from behind, beside a window overlooking the Quai Saint Michel. Before him and next to his easel, is seated Lorette, Henri Matisse’s favourite model whom he painted tirelessly. A silent conversation is taking place in an unstable space. Matisse questions the role of the model and that of the painter for it is the artist who seems to be the naked subject of the painting here, rather than Lorette, dressed in a green Gandoura. (Centre Pompidou)