Henri Matisse
Sleeping Man
1936
Scroll
Henri Matisse
Sleeping Man
1936
Physical Qualities
Aquatint, Sheet: 333 x 257 mm. (13 1/8 x 10 1/8 in.)
Plate: 247 x 175 mm. (9 3/4 x 6 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Saidie A. May
Object Number
1941.371
This rare image of a male figure at rest is one of Matisse’s first aquatints, a method which allowed him to experiment away from his typical black lines on a light piece of paper. This technique, which is a variation on the etching process, permitted him to preserve his spare but powerful white lines, creating a deep field of black from which the figure emerges and fills the picture. After creating a small group of aquatints in the 1930s, Matisse returned to the technique more fully in the 1940s, producing dozens of images that feature stylized faces created with boldly brushed lines.
Jay Fisher, American Federation of the Arts, "Matisse as Printmaker," The Baltimore Museum of Art, October 25, 2009 - January 3,2010; circulating to The Tampa Museum of Art, January 29, 2010 - April 10, 2010, and Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, October 29, 2010 - February 13, 2011.
Katy Rothkopf, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse: The Sinuous Line," (second rotation) May 8 - October 2, 2022.
Katy Rothkopf, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse: The Sinuous Line," (second rotation) May 8 - October 2, 2022.
Inscribed: lower right in graphite: "Henri Matisse / 37/150"
