Henri Matisse and Henri Matisse, Presentation Maquette, Poésies de Stéphane Mallarmé
Study for “Fan Belonging to Madame Mallarmé”
1930-1931
Scroll
Study for “Fan Belonging to Madame Mallarmé”
1930-1931
Physical Qualities
Graphite with erasing on paper, Sheet: 329 x 258 mm. (12 15/16 x 10 3/16 in.)
Mat: 20" x 16"
Credit Line
The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland
Object Number
1950.12.729
Matisse began this group of studies with an image of a woman coyly hiding her face. This image could be nderstood as an apt metaphor for the linguistic uncertainty in Mallarmé’s intentionally obscure verse. Allowing the blankness of the paper to occupy most of the composition, Matisse creates a visual paradox similar to the ironic juxtapositions so often found within the poems, which continuously elude fixed meanings.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by bequest of Etta Cone, 1949; Etta Cone, Baltimore, MD by purchase, 1931-33; the artist
A Modern Influence: Henri Matisse, Etta Cone, and Baltimore
Guillaud, Maurice, and Jacqueline Guillaud. Matisse: le rythme et la ligne. Paris: Guillaud Editions, 1987, plate no. 634 (published as “L’éventail I”).
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 graphite: "l'Eventail I / Henri Matisse"
Markings: Watermark: MBM (upper quadrant, vertical); Chopmark: MALLARME ET MATISSE
