Henri Matisse
Madame Josette Gris
1913-1914
Scroll
Henri Matisse
Madame Josette Gris
1913-1914
Physical Qualities
Etching on chine collé, Sheet: 282 x 187 mm. (11 1/8 x 7 3/8 in.)
Plate: 160 x 61 mm. (6 5/16 x 2 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Print Fund
Object Number
1950.167
Josette Gris (1891–1942) was married to the Spanish Cubist painter Juan Gris (1887–1927), who first met Matisse in 1914 in the South of France at the onset of World War I. The two artists soon became close friends, and Matisse asked Josette Gris to pose for a group of his etchings. Here, her strong features and pronounced eyebrows create a captivating and powerful depiction, made ever more interesting by the discovery of a ghost image of Walter Pach on the same print. For more information on this work, see the nearby text, Matisse’s Etching Technique: A Closer Look.
Matisse as Printmaker
Etched in Memory: Matisse's Early Portraits
Guillaud, Maurice, and Jacqueline Guillaud. Matisse: le rythme et la ligne. Paris: Guillaud Editions, 1987, plate no. 107.
