![Henri Matisse - Jeune fille à la mauresque, robe verte [1921] by Gandalf's Gallery](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7440/12496075025_271dfeeca7.jpg)
Henri Matisse - Jeune fille à la mauresque, robe verte [1921], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.
Painted in 1921, Jeune fille à la moresque, robe verte dates from the near the beginning of Henri Matisse's time in Nice, a period that would last for the large part of the following two decades. This picture combines two of his most preferred motifs: women and windows. Here, the figure in green is leaning languidly against the window frame; the partially closed shutters imply that it is a bright, warm day in Nice. This picture is filled with the sense of visual rhythm that Matisse was actively exploring during this period, as well as the sensuality of the South and of the Mediterranean which breathes through the greatest of his pictures of that time.
With her loose-fitting outfit à la moresque, sometimes referred to in variant titles for this picture as a gandoura, Matisse can be seen to be referring to his Odalisques, which would come to dominate his output over the coming years. This picture occupies a seminal place within the artist's oeuvre, having featured in a number of important collections over the years, including those of Marcel Kapferer, Lillie P. Bliss and Ralph F. Colin among others. It has featured in a string of exhibitions devoted to Matisse, from a show held by his dealers, the Bernheim-Jeunes, in 1922 to many of the retrospectives that have honoured the artist over the decades. It has also featured in a large number of monographs dedicated to Matisse, emphasising its importance within his oeuvre.
[Sold for £3,065,250 at Christie’s, London - Oil on canvas, 66 x 55 cm]