Henri Matisse and Henri Matisse, Presentation Maquette, Poésies de Stéphane Mallarmé
Study for “The Tomb of Edgar Poe”
1931-1932
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Study for “The Tomb of Edgar Poe”
1931-1932
Physical Qualities
Graphite with erasing on paper, Sheet: 317 x 238 mm. (12 1/2 x 9 3/8 in.)
Mat: 20" x 16"
Credit Line
The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland
Object Number
1950.12.902
By the time Henri Matisse drew this detailed portrait of Poe, the American writer had been dead for 80 years, so the French artist must have relied on an earlier image, most likely a print or daguerreotype. The graceful outline of Poe’s head and a second sketch of his characteristic facial features, both drawn in the lower right of the sheet, reveal Matisse’s process of refinement as he moved through his working method to the published version of this image.
Purchased by Etta Cone from Marie Harriman gallery, Dec 1932
Doreen Bolger, BMA, "Edgar Allan Poe: A Baltimore Icon," 4 October 2009 - 17 January 2010.
Doreen Bolger, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Haunting Visions of Poe; Illustrations by Manet, Matisse & Gauguin," Sept. 17, 2003-Jan. 11, 2004.
BMA, "As Artists See Us: Drawings from the Museum Collection," 14 May - 11 August, 1991.
BMA, "Henri Matisse: The Spirited Line--Works on Paper, 1898-1950, from the Museum Collection," 7 September - 2 November 1986.
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. 50.
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.
Doreen Bolger, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Haunting Visions of Poe; Illustrations by Manet, Matisse & Gauguin," Sept. 17, 2003-Jan. 11, 2004.
BMA, "As Artists See Us: Drawings from the Museum Collection," 14 May - 11 August, 1991.
BMA, "Henri Matisse: The Spirited Line--Works on Paper, 1898-1950, from the Museum Collection," 7 September - 2 November 1986.
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. 50.
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.
Cone, Etta. The Cone Collection of Baltimore, Maryland: Catalogue of Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. [Baltimore, MD]: [Etta Cone], 1934, plate 93.
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 graphite: "E.A. Poe / Henri - Matisse"
Markings: Chopmark: MALLARME ET MATISSE
