Henri Matisse
The Serpentine
1908
Scroll
Henri Matisse
The Serpentine
1908
Physical Qualities
Bronze, 21 1/2 x 11 1/2 x 7 1/2 in. (54.6 x 29.2 x 19.1 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of a Group of Friends
Object Number
1950.93
Although he claimed to sculpt as a painter and not
a sculptor, "The Serpentine" demonstrates Matisse’s careful consideration and understanding of working in three dimensions. Here, the female model’s limbs wrap around her body, almost encircling her, reaching out into the surrounding space and returning to the figure. With its emphasis of line and movement over mass and volume, the figure is almost completely unique among Matisse’s sculptural works. "The Serpentine" is an embodiment of the fluid, sinuous lines that characterize Matisse’s early 20th-century work, such as his painting "Dance (II)."
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 1950; Galerie Gérald Cramer, Geneva, Switzerland; Buchholz Gallery, Kurt Valentin, New York, Oct. 1948.
"Inaugural Exhibition", Fort Worth Art Center, October, 1954.
"4,000 Years of Modern Art", BMA, 27 (?) November 27, 1956-January 13, 1957 (and Circuit to June 30, 1957) cat. # 58.
Galerie Chalette, New York, October 15-November 29, 1958.
Fine Arts Associates, Inc., New York, November 25-December 13, 1958.
"1910", Isaac Delgado Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA November 15-December 31, 1960.
"Twentieth Century Sculpture", The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, March 26- May 1, 1966, cat. # 32.
"Dimensions in Black", La Jolla Museum of Art, (in conjunction with UC, San Diego) February 14-March 29, 1970.
"Selections from the Cone Collection", The Baltimore Museum of Art "June 12, 1974" ?
"Matisse in the Collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art", Guggenheim Museum of Art , August 12-October 7, 1979.
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.
Dorothy Kosinski, Jay McKean Fisher, Steven Nash; BMA, Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, "Matisse: Painter as Sculptor", Dallas, January 21-April 29, 2007; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, June 9-September 16, 2007; The Baltimore Museum of Art, October 28, 2007-February 3, 2008, cat. no. 58, p. 270, ill. pp. 170, 172.
"4,000 Years of Modern Art", BMA, 27 (?) November 27, 1956-January 13, 1957 (and Circuit to June 30, 1957) cat. # 58.
Galerie Chalette, New York, October 15-November 29, 1958.
Fine Arts Associates, Inc., New York, November 25-December 13, 1958.
"1910", Isaac Delgado Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA November 15-December 31, 1960.
"Twentieth Century Sculpture", The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, March 26- May 1, 1966, cat. # 32.
"Dimensions in Black", La Jolla Museum of Art, (in conjunction with UC, San Diego) February 14-March 29, 1970.
"Selections from the Cone Collection", The Baltimore Museum of Art "June 12, 1974" ?
"Matisse in the Collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art", Guggenheim Museum of Art , August 12-October 7, 1979.
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.
Dorothy Kosinski, Jay McKean Fisher, Steven Nash; BMA, Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, "Matisse: Painter as Sculptor", Dallas, January 21-April 29, 2007; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, June 9-September 16, 2007; The Baltimore Museum of Art, October 28, 2007-February 3, 2008, cat. no. 58, p. 270, ill. pp. 170, 172.
Cristian Zervos, 'Sculpture des Peintre D'Aujourd'hui,' "Cahier D'Art," no. 7, Paris, 1928, p. 278.
Alfred H. Barr, Jr., "Matisse: His Art and His Public," (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1951) 367.
Raymond Escholier, "Matisse," (New York: na, 1960) 15, pl. 40.
Herbert Read, "Art & Alienation: The Role of the Artist in Society," (London: Thames & Hudson, 1967) 119, 171.
Albert Elsen, 'The Sculpture of Matisse,' "Art Forum," vol. VII, #2, Oct. 1968, p. 22 .
Albert Elsen, "The Sculpture of Matisse," (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1972) 91-96.
Alicia Legg, "The Sculpture of Matisse," (New York: MOMA, 1972) 23-24.
Mannering, Douglas. The Art of Matisse. London: Optimum Books, 1982, page 40 (published as “La Serpentine”).
Isabelle Monod-Fontaine, "The Sculpture of Henri Matisse," (London: The Arts Council of Great Britain, 1984) cat. # 42, 42a.
Nicholas Watkins. Matisse. Oxford: Phaidon, 1984, page 96 (published as “La Serpentine”).
Jack Flam, "Matisse The Man and His Art 1869-1918," (Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press, 1986) 269-71.
Senzoku, Nobuyuki, ed. Matisse and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art = Kon korekushon ten. [Tokyo]: "Kon Korekushon" Ten Katarogu Iinkai, 1996, pages 188-119, no. 62.
Jack Flam, "Matisse in The Cone Collection The Poetics of Vision," (Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2001), pl. 13, p. 46, ill.
Kosinski, Dorothy, Jay McKean Fisher, and Steven Nash. Matisse: Painter as Sculptor. Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Museum of Art; Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art: Nasher Sculpture Center; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007, pages 170, 172, 270, cat. no. 58.
Fillion, Susan. Miss Etta and Dr. Claribel: Bringing Matisse to America. Boston: David R. Godine, 2011, page 10.
Ellen McBreen, "Matisse's Sculpture, The Pinup and the Primitive", Conneticut: Yale University Press, 2014, ill 152.
Cozzi, Leslie and Katherine Rothkopf (eds). "A Modern Influence: Henri Matisse, Etta Cone, and Baltimore." Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2021. ill.
Inscribed: Signed "Henri Matisse," at bottom on outside of stump. Also stamped "HM" within an oval and "3/10".
Markings: "Cire - C. Valsuani - perdue" at rear of base.
On View: Cone Wing, Gallery 3
