Nude in an Armchair (Nu au fauteuil)

• Henri Matisse (1869–1954)
• 1920
• Oil on canvas board
• Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
• (1975.1.195)

Henri Matisse is admired for his innovative style, characterized by sinuous yet simplified lines and vibrant colors. In this work, he depicts a woman languidly reclining in a draped chair. Bold black outlines emphasize her contours, while her enlarged hands and feet are rendered in a rough manner, distancing the figure from the idealized classical nude. The contrast between the woman’s enervated pose and the vivid colors and floor patterns around her heightens the expressive effect. The setting is thought to be a hotel room in Nice, on the southeastern coast of France, where Matisse stayed.