Henri Matisse
Profile Head with Ruffle
1937
Scroll
Henri Matisse
Profile Head with Ruffle
1937
Physical Qualities
Pen and black ink on paper, Sheet: 380 × 280 mm. (14 15/16 × 11 in.)
Mat: 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm.)
Credit Line
The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland
Object Number
1950.12.45
In this elegant but spare drawing, Matisse renders a female figure in profile using meandering yet parallel strokes of the pen. With these simple marks, Matisse conveys the dimensionality and curvature of the figure’s hair and costume, as well as the gently rounded angles of her face. In an interview from 1931, Matisse explained the genesis of works such as these: “You see these pen-and-ink drawings? They indicate the proportions through rhythm alone. These are drawings I manage less frequently. They come out only in certain moods and states of excitement. They hardly have any connection with any planned painting. When I take pen in hand in a mood like that, I know from the outset that the drawing will not fail.”
The Baltimore Museum of Art by bequest, 1949; Etta Cone, Baltimore, purchased from the artist, 1937
The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Denver Art Museum, "Matisse from The Baltimore Museum of Art," March 11, 2000 - June 25, 2000; circulated to the Birmingham Museum of Art, July 23, 2000 - September 17, 2000; The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, October 10, 2000 - January 28, 2001.
Jay Fisher, "Matisse, Picasso and Friends: Masterworks on Paper from the Cone Collection," The Cleveland Museum of Art, 17 November, 1996 - 19 January, 1997; Seattle Art Museum 20 February - 20 April, 1997; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston 18 May - 13 July, 1997.
Jay Fisher, BMA, "Matisse, Picasso and Friends: Masterworks on Paper from The Cone Collection," 7 June - 27 August, 1995.
BMA, Cone Wing rotation, 22 April - 16 September 1993.
BMA, "Henri Matisse: The Spirited Line--Works on Paper, 1898-1950, from the Museum Collection," 7 September - 2 November 1986.
BMA, "European Drawings and Watercolors, 1941 - 1940: Selections from the Museum Collection," 19 February - 28 April, 1985.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY, "Matisse in the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," 24 August - 14 October 1979.
Katy Rothkopf and Leslie Cozzi, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A Modern Influence: Henry Matisse, Etta Cone, and Baltimore," October 3, 2021 - January 2, 2022.
Jay Fisher, "Matisse, Picasso and Friends: Masterworks on Paper from the Cone Collection," The Cleveland Museum of Art, 17 November, 1996 - 19 January, 1997; Seattle Art Museum 20 February - 20 April, 1997; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston 18 May - 13 July, 1997.
Jay Fisher, BMA, "Matisse, Picasso and Friends: Masterworks on Paper from The Cone Collection," 7 June - 27 August, 1995.
BMA, Cone Wing rotation, 22 April - 16 September 1993.
BMA, "Henri Matisse: The Spirited Line--Works on Paper, 1898-1950, from the Museum Collection," 7 September - 2 November 1986.
BMA, "European Drawings and Watercolors, 1941 - 1940: Selections from the Museum Collection," 19 February - 28 April, 1985.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY, "Matisse in the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," 24 August - 14 October 1979.
Katy Rothkopf and Leslie Cozzi, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A Modern Influence: Henry Matisse, Etta Cone, and Baltimore," October 3, 2021 - January 2, 2022.
Musée Départemental Matisse. Lydia D.: Lydia Delectorskaya, Muse et Modèle de Matisse. Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux; Le Cateau-Cambrésis: Musée Départemental Matisse; Nice: Musée Matisse, 2010, page 25.
Cozzi, Leslie and Katherine Rothkopf (eds). "A Modern Influence: Henri Matisse, Etta Cone, and Baltimore." Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2021. ill.
Inscribed: lower right in black ink: "Matisse 37"
Markings: WM: MBM
