This print has been selected from a larger series of eleven— a rare set of photolithographs printed posthumously by the artist’s estate. Collector Albert Barnes’ 1930 commission for a mural called "The Dance" was the catalyst for an intense and radical change in Matisse’s art. During the artist’s visit with Barnes in Pennsylvania, he made compositional sketches that reflected the scale and structure of the space where the mural was to be installed. After returning to Nice, he continued to plan the mural’s composition but also began working on individual figure studies with a model named Lisette—the same model who appears in the BMA’s painting, "The Yellow Dress" and in its preparatory drawings on view nearby. As the series progresses, the figures’ poses become increasingly extreme, resembling the expressive movements of a manic modern dance. In the top image, the dancer stretches her arms over her head, holding stable and balancing solidly on one leg. The next is a more dynamic pose with radical extension of arms and legs into space. The final image achieves perfect balance. Two lines encompassing body and limbs, plus a rounded squiggle for the head, together create an eloquent equilibrium of balance and pose.