Henri Matisse
Small Rumanian Blouse with Foliage
1936
Scroll
Henri Matisse
Small Rumanian Blouse with Foliage
1936
Physical Qualities
Oil and graphite on canvas, Unframed: 18 1/8 × 15 in. (46 × 38.1 cm.)
Framed: 26 3/8 × 23 1/8 × 3 5/8 in. (67 × 58.7 × 9.2 cm.)
Credit Line
The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland
Object Number
1950.262
As he had done for over 20 years, Matisse dressed his model in a piece of exotic clothing: an embroidered blouse that appears in several works from this period. The figure’s quiet demeanor in this painting seems overshadowed by the philodendron that grows up behind her chair. The enormous leaves dominate the top half of the composition and seem to fill the sky in the window beyond. After brushing on flat, thinly painted areas of color, Matisse delineated details, such as the leaves of the philodendron and the features of the woman’s face, by drawing them in with a graphite pencil.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by bequest, 1949; Etta Cone, Baltimore, by purchase, August 31, 1938; Paul Rosenberg, Paris
Gertrude Rosenthal, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Selections from the Cone Collection", October 7, 1949-December 31, 1949, no. 65. (Exhibited as "Interior: Woman Seated Under Plants")
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The Cone Collection", circulated to M. Knoedler & Company, New York, January 24, 1955-February 19, 1955. (Exhibited as "Interior: Woman Seated Under Plants")
Jane Harrison Cone, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Cone Collection from The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to Wildenstein and Company, New York, March 29, 1974-May 4, 1974, no. 37. (Exhibited as "Woman with Philodendron")
Brenda Richardson, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse in the Collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, August 24, 1979-October 14, 1979.
Brenda Richardson, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse, Picasso and Impressionist Masters from the Cone Collection", circulated to The Museum of Fine Arts Boston,October 2, 1991-January 19, 1992.
Brain Trust Inc., Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo, "Matisse and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", October 3, 1996-December 28, 1996, no. 39; circulated to the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, January 8, 1997-February 11, 1997.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse from The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Denver Art Museum, March 11, 2000-June 25, 2000; Birmingham Museum of Art, July 23, 2000-September 17, 2000; The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, October 10, 2000-January 28, 2001.
Musee d'Orsay, "Matisse in the 1930s", Philidelphia Museum of Art, Philidelphia, Pennslyvania, 13 October 2022-29 January 2023.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The Cone Collection", circulated to M. Knoedler & Company, New York, January 24, 1955-February 19, 1955. (Exhibited as "Interior: Woman Seated Under Plants")
Jane Harrison Cone, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Cone Collection from The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to Wildenstein and Company, New York, March 29, 1974-May 4, 1974, no. 37. (Exhibited as "Woman with Philodendron")
Brenda Richardson, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse in the Collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, August 24, 1979-October 14, 1979.
Brenda Richardson, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse, Picasso and Impressionist Masters from the Cone Collection", circulated to The Museum of Fine Arts Boston,October 2, 1991-January 19, 1992.
Brain Trust Inc., Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo, "Matisse and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", October 3, 1996-December 28, 1996, no. 39; circulated to the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, January 8, 1997-February 11, 1997.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse from The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Denver Art Museum, March 11, 2000-June 25, 2000; Birmingham Museum of Art, July 23, 2000-September 17, 2000; The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, October 10, 2000-January 28, 2001.
Musee d'Orsay, "Matisse in the 1930s", Philidelphia Museum of Art, Philidelphia, Pennslyvania, 13 October 2022-29 January 2023.
George Besson, "Matisse," Paris: Les Éditions Braun & Cie, 1945, no. 32, ill. (Published as "Jeune Femme [Vert, Jaune Citron, Ocre]")
George Boas, Adelyn D. Breeskin and J.G. D'Arcy Paul, "Selections from the Cone Collection," "News of the Baltimore Museum of Art," October 1949, vol. 13, no. 1, p. 18. (Published as "Interior: Woman Seated Under Plants")
Alfred H. Barr, Jr., "Matisse: His Art and His Public," New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1951, p. 557. (Published as "Interior: Woman Seated under Plants")
Gaston Diehl, "Henri Matisse," Paris: Éditions Pierre Tisné, 1954, p. 145, pl. 115, ill. (Published as "Jeune Femme, Robe Verte, Jaune Citron")
Kenneth B. Sawyer, "The Miracle of Matisse," "The Baltimore Sun," December 12, 1954, p. A3. (Published as "Girl in the Conservatory")
George Boas, Adelyn Breeskin, and Gertrude Rosenthal, "Cone Collection: A Handbook with a Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1955, p. 37, no. 77. (Published as "Woman with Philodendron")
George Boas, Adelyn Breeskin, and Gertrude Rosenthal, "Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings in the Cone Collection," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1967, p. 67, no. 74. (Published as "Woman with Philodendron")
Massimo Carrà and Mario Luzi, "L'opera di Matisse dalla rivolta 'fauve' all'intimismo 1904-1928," Milan: Rizzoli 1971, pp. 106, 113, no. 478, ill. (Published as "Ragazza con Vestito Verde e Giallo")
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Cone Collection from the Baltimore Museum of Art: A Benefit Exhibition at Wildenstein," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1974, no. 37. (Published as "Woman with Philodendron")
Pierre Schneider, Massimo Carrà and Xavier Deryng, "Tout l'Oeuvre Peint de Matisse 1904-1928," Paris: Flammarion, 1982, pp. 106, 114, no. 478, ill. (Published as "Jeune Fille à la Robe Verte et Jaune")
Brenda Richardson, "Dr. Claribel & Miss Etta: The Cone Collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1985, pp. 147-148, 190, 199, 202, p. 148, ill.
Lydia Delectorskaya, "…l'apparente facilité…Henri Matisse, Peintures de 1935-1939," Paris: Adrien Maeght, 1986, pp. 31, 243, ill. p. 243. (Published as "Petite Blouse Roumaine au Feuillage")
Girard, Xavier. Les chefs-d'œuvre du Musée Matisse, Nice, Cimiez. [Dijon]: Ville de Dijon; [Paris]: Réunion des musées nationaux; [Nice-Cimiez]: Musée Matisse, [1991], page 76 (published as “Petite blouse roumaine au feuillage”)
Andrew Patner, "Loyal Citizens of Baltimore," "Art and Antiques," June 1995, p. 66, ill. p. 67.
Nobuyuki Senzoku and Akira Tomita, "Matisse and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art," Tokyo: Brain Trust Inc., 1996, pp. 93, 159, no. 39, ill.
Jack Flam, "Matisse in the Cone Collection: The Poetics of Vision," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2001, pp. 12-13, 16-17, 116, pl. 1, ill.
Fillion, Susan. Miss Etta and Dr. Claribel: Bringing Matisse to America. Boston: David R. Godine, 2011, page 65.
Cozzi, Leslie and Katherine Rothkopf (eds). "A Modern Influence: Henri Matisse, Etta Cone, and Baltimore." Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2021. ill.
Affron, Matthew, Cécile Debray, and Claudine Grammont. Matisse in the 1930s. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2022. ill.
Inscribed: Recto: Lower left, incised, "Henri Matisse 38" Verso: Top right in ink, "inv 638 photo" Right on center stretcher in ink, upside down, "(65)" Middle on center stretcher in blue pencil, "PH 3999" Middle on bottom stretcher in orange crayon, upside down, "8F" Frame Inscriptions, Verso: Top center in black grease pencil, "44" Right on center stretcher in graphite, "63" Top right, inside frame rabbit in graphite, "262" Top center stretcher in graphite, "262" These inscriptions are normally covered by the frame buildup
