In 1919 Matisse painted his first true odalisque, a term used loosely to refer to women, often scantily dressed in North African or Middle Eastern costume, who recline in ornately decorated interiors. This theme dominated his paintings, drawings, and prints of the 1920s, providing him with the opportunity to depict nude or semi-clothed women that followed in the tradition of nineteenth-century French masters Eugène Delacroix and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. With her uninterrupted stare, Henriette Darricarrère plays the part of an odalisque, a popular theme among 19th- and 20th-century European artists who were drawn to the myth that the northern African and eastern Mediterranean worlds were timeless places full of adventure and fantasy. Darricarrère wears a pair of green harem pants—a garment that Matisse reused in many paintings of this period—and a translucent blouse with colorful details. She is surrounded by patterns: the green and yellow striped chair, the red tile floor, the arched blue northern African textile behind her chair (more likely a wall hanging than a floor screen), and the gray design to her left. Her short haircut, fashionable with European women in the 1920s, identifies her as a model playing a role.