Henri Matisse
Self-Portrait
1936
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Henri Matisse
Self-Portrait
1936
Physical Qualities
Charcoal with stumping on paper, Sheet: 473 × 391 mm. (18 5/8 × 15 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland
Object Number
1950.12.61
Etta Cone acquired many significant drawings by the artist in 1936 and 1937, including this rare example of the artist turning his penetrating, quizzical gaze on himself. We see the artist in three-quarter profile, but the left edge of the figure is compounded with multiple hazy contours. These abundant pentimenti—partial erasures and revisions that are frequent throughout Matisse’s drawings and paintings—serve as the figure’s cast shadow. They also metaphorically represent the hidden depths of the artist’s self.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by bequest, 1950; Etta Cone purchased from the artist, 1937
BMA "A Century of Baltimore Collecting, 1840-1940," 6 June - 1 September 1941, p. 113.
The Museum of Modern Art, NY, "20th Century Portraits," 1942, p. 140 (not illus.).
M. Knoedler & Co., NY, "The Cone Collection," 1955.
Museum Boymans, Rotterdam, "De Clouet a Matisse: dessin Francais des Collections Americaines," travelled to Musee de l'Orangeries, 1958-59, and to the Metropolitan Museum of Art as "French Drawings from American Collections," 3 Feburary - 15 March 1959, cat 208.
Kassel, Germany, Alte Galerie, Museum Fridericianum, and Orangerie, "Documenta III: Internationale Austellung," 27 June - 5 October 1964.
Victor Carlson, BMA, "Matisse as Draughtsman," 12 January - 21 February 1971, traveled to California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 20 March - 9 May 1971, The Art Institute of Chicago, 26 May - 10 July 1971, cat. no. 59.
Wildenstein Gallery, NY, "Cone Collection from The Baltimore Museum of Art: A Benefit Exhibition at Wildenstein, New York," 29 March - 4 May 1974.
Victor Carlson and Carol Hynning Smith, BMA, "Master Drawings and Watercolors of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries"; circulated by the American Federation of Arts to the Guggenheim Museum, NY, 24 August - 7 October 1979; Des Moines Art Center, 19 November 1979 - 6 January 1980; Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, 8 February - 16 March, 1980; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1 May - 22 June 1980 ; Denver Art Museum, 12 July - 24 August, 1980.
BMA, "Master Drawings and Watercolors of the 19th and 20th Centuries from the Museum Collection," 14 October - 28 November, 1982.
BMA, "The Spirited Line", 7 September - 2 November 1986.
Arts Council of Great Britain, "Matisse Drawings," Hayward Gallery, London (4 October 1984 - 6 January 1985), Museum of Modern Art, NY (27 February - 14 May 1985), cat 88.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, "Masterpieces from the Cone Collection from The Baltimore Museum of Art," October 1991 - January 1992.
The Museum of Modern Art, NY, "Matisse: A Retrospective," 24 September 1992 - 12 January 1993, cat. 310.
Jay Fisher, BMA, "Matisse, Picasso and Friends: Masterworks on Paper from The
Cone Collection," 7 June - 27 August, 1995.
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.
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.
Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, "Matisse: People, Masks, Models," 27 September 2008 - 11 January 2009, traveled to Bucerius Kunst Forum, Hamburg, 31 January - 19 April 2009, cat. 86, p. 178.
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.
The Museum of Modern Art, NY, "20th Century Portraits," 1942, p. 140 (not illus.).
M. Knoedler & Co., NY, "The Cone Collection," 1955.
Museum Boymans, Rotterdam, "De Clouet a Matisse: dessin Francais des Collections Americaines," travelled to Musee de l'Orangeries, 1958-59, and to the Metropolitan Museum of Art as "French Drawings from American Collections," 3 Feburary - 15 March 1959, cat 208.
Kassel, Germany, Alte Galerie, Museum Fridericianum, and Orangerie, "Documenta III: Internationale Austellung," 27 June - 5 October 1964.
Victor Carlson, BMA, "Matisse as Draughtsman," 12 January - 21 February 1971, traveled to California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 20 March - 9 May 1971, The Art Institute of Chicago, 26 May - 10 July 1971, cat. no. 59.
Wildenstein Gallery, NY, "Cone Collection from The Baltimore Museum of Art: A Benefit Exhibition at Wildenstein, New York," 29 March - 4 May 1974.
Victor Carlson and Carol Hynning Smith, BMA, "Master Drawings and Watercolors of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries"; circulated by the American Federation of Arts to the Guggenheim Museum, NY, 24 August - 7 October 1979; Des Moines Art Center, 19 November 1979 - 6 January 1980; Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, 8 February - 16 March, 1980; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1 May - 22 June 1980 ; Denver Art Museum, 12 July - 24 August, 1980.
BMA, "Master Drawings and Watercolors of the 19th and 20th Centuries from the Museum Collection," 14 October - 28 November, 1982.
BMA, "The Spirited Line", 7 September - 2 November 1986.
Arts Council of Great Britain, "Matisse Drawings," Hayward Gallery, London (4 October 1984 - 6 January 1985), Museum of Modern Art, NY (27 February - 14 May 1985), cat 88.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, "Masterpieces from the Cone Collection from The Baltimore Museum of Art," October 1991 - January 1992.
The Museum of Modern Art, NY, "Matisse: A Retrospective," 24 September 1992 - 12 January 1993, cat. 310.
Jay Fisher, BMA, "Matisse, Picasso and Friends: Masterworks on Paper from The
Cone Collection," 7 June - 27 August, 1995.
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.
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.
Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, "Matisse: People, Masks, Models," 27 September 2008 - 11 January 2009, traveled to Bucerius Kunst Forum, Hamburg, 31 January - 19 April 2009, cat. 86, p. 178.
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.
R. Escholier, "Henri Matisse" (Paris: Floury, 1937), illus. cover.
"Handbook of the Cone Collection," Baltimore: BMA, 1955, ill. p. 55.
Committee for the Exhibition of French Drawings from American Collections. De Clouet a Matisse: Dessins Français des Collections Americaines [exposition] 1958-1959. Paris, [1958], plate 202, cat. 208, unpaged.
"Handbook of the Cone Collection," (rev. ed.), Baltimore: BMA, 1967, no. 287.
Elderfield, John. The Drawings of Henri Matisse. New York: Thames and Hudson, published in association with the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Arts Council of Great Britain, 1985, page 201, plate 88, ill.
Guillaud, Maurice, and Jacqueline Guillaud. Matisse: le rythme et la ligne. Paris: Guillaud Editions, 1987, plate no. 694 (published as “Autoportrait”).
Hayden Herrera, "Matisse: A Portrait" (NY: Harcourt Brace & Co, 1993), ill. p. 170.
Carlson, Victor, and Carol Hynning Smith. Master Drawings and Watercolors of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: The Baltimore Museum of Art. New York, NY: The American Federation of Arts, 1979, pp. 101, ill
Flam, Jack. Matisse: A Retrospective. Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, Inc, New York, 1988.
Monod-Fontaine, Isabelle. Matisse: Œuvres de Henri Matisse. Paris: Centre Georges Pompidou, 1989, page 236, fig. a (published as “Autoportrait”).
Herrera, Hayden. Matisse: A Portrait. Harcourt Brace & Company, New York, 1993, p. 170.
Flam, Jack. Matisse on Art. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995, page 180, fig. 32.
Morgan, Genevieve, ed. Matisse: The Artist Speaks. San Francisco: Collins Publishers, 1996, p. 74, ill.
Klein, John. Matisse Portraits. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001, p. 208, no. 164.
Gabriel, Mary. The Art of Acquiring: A Portrait of Etta and Claribel Cone. [Baltimore, MD]: Bancroft Press, 2002, unpaged plate section.
John Wilmerding. Tom Wesselmann: His Voice and Vision. Rizzoli International Publications, Inc, 2008.
Ortrud Westheider, Michael Philipp and Dorothee Blum. Matisse: People, Masks, Models. Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, 2008, p. 178
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 left in charcoal: "HM 37"
