Odalisque with Tambourine (Harmony in Blue)
1926
Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954)
Oil on canvas
Norton Simon Art Foundation
© Succession H. Matisse/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Reproduction, including downloading of ARS works is prohibited by copyright laws and international conventions without the express written permission of Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
In the 1920s, Matisse settled in Nice, the epicenter of the silent-film industry in France. Perhaps inspired by such local productions as La sultane de l’amour (1919), the painter began staging orientalist scenes in his seafront studio using an ever-changing assortment of decorative wall hangings, rugs, and costumes. Over the next eight years, Matisse devoted himself to the theme of the odalisque, basing the majority of these compositions on a model and former dancer named Henriette Darricarrère, who was working as a film extra when she first met the artist. Odalisque with Tambourine (Harmony in Blue) evidences Matisse’s creative collaboration with Darricarrère, as the model’s upraised arms and the round red form of the tambourine reiterate the decorative x’s and o’s of the North African textile behind her.
Matisse and His Models
For Henri Matisse, working with live models was an essential part of his artistic practice; they were not only subjects but also collaborators and friends. A lecture by Chief Curator Emily Talbot that accompanied the exhibition Matisse/Odalisque (2019) delves into the lives of three women who posed for Matisse and shaped his creative output, including Henriette Darricarrère, the French ballet dancer and model who inspired this work. After meeting Darricarrère in the winter of 1921, Matisse continued to paint her almost exclusively until 1928. Talbot’s lecture provides an overview of the range of responsibilities that the most trusted models assumed in Matisse’s studio. For example, in addition to Darricarrère’s daily posing sessions, she ran errands, washed paintbrushes and eventually took painting lessons from the artist.
