Provenance
Alfred Stieglitz (1864–1946), New York, probably by late Feb. 1908; by descent to the Stieglitz Estate (Georgia O'Keefe (1887–1986), executor); given to the Art Institute, 1949.
Accession Number
66910
Medium
Graphite, with stumping and erasing on cream wove paper, laid down on cream wove paper, laid down on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Primary support: 31.3 × 23.8 cm (12 3/8 × 9 3/8 in.); Secondary support: 33.2 × 26 cm (13 1/8 × 10 1/4 in.); Tertiary support: 38 × 30.5 cm (15 × 12 1/16 in.)
Classification
graphite
Credit Line
Alfred Stieglitz Collection
Background & Context
Background Story
Henri Matisse's Standing Female Nude with Chair (1907) is a graphite drawing with stumping and erasing on cream wove paper, showing a figure standing beside a chair. The inclusion of the chair as a prop adds a compositional element that frames the figure and provides a counterpoint to the curves of the body. Matisse's graphite technique is confident and varied: the lines defining the figure are precise and flowing, while the stumping adds soft areas of tone that give the body volume. The standing nude with chair is a classic subject in art, and Matisse's treatment combines the freshness of his Fauvist vision with a new sense of structure and monumentality.
Cultural Impact
Matisse's figure drawings from 1907 show the evolution of his style from the spontaneous freedom of Fauvism toward the more structured, classical approach of his later work.
Why It Matters
This graphite drawing of a standing nude with a chair captures the balance between spontaneity and structure that defines Matisse's art, the confident line and soft modeling creating a figure of grace and presence.
