Henri Matisse

Two Women in City Costumes

1900-1903

Scroll

Henri Matisse

Two Women in City Costumes

Henri Matisse

Two Women in City Costumes

1900-1903

Physical Qualities Etching and drypoint with printed tone, Sheet: 329 x 259 mm. (12 15/16 x 10 3/16 in.) Plate: 147 x 97 mm. (5 13/16 x 3 13/16 in.)

Credit Line The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland

Object Number 1950.12.112

One early drypoints appear as quick drawings torn from a sketchbook. Multiple vignettes of nudes in the studio are intermixed with portraits of Matisse’s children, Marguerite and Jean. Another sheet depicts two women on the street. Sketching from everyday life was a frequent activity for Matisse in his early days. The few surviving examples underscore how important it was for the artist to quickly record his observations, an ability that became even more apparent in his rapid caricature portraits.

Purchased by Etta Cone from the artist, August 1925

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.

Inscribed: lower right in black ink: "Henri Matisse 7/30"; by later hand, lower left in graphite: "K"