Henri Matisse

French, 1869-1954

Nu couché I (Aurore) [Reclining Nude I (Aurora)]

Nu couché I (Aurore) [Reclining Nude I (Aurora)], 1907 (cast executed ca. 1912)

Currently on View

bronze

4/10

overall: 13 11/16 x 19 3/4 x 11 inches (34.76625 x 50.165 x 27.94 cm)

Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum

Room of Contemporary Art Fund, 1945

RCA1945:3

Inscriptions:

signature, undated / base, rear left / Henri Matisse

foundry mark / base / F. Costenoble Foundeur Paris

edition notation / base, rear left / 4/10

Provenance:

Buchholz Gallery, New York;
June 22, 1945, purchased by the Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo

Object Classifications:

Sculpture

Cast (sculpture)

Information may change due to ongoing research. Glossary of Terms

Henri Matisse predominantly pursued sculpture early on in his career, completing more than half of his body of three-dimensional works between 1900 and 1910. Although he infused the medium with unique expressive tendencies, it was primarily an inspiration and aid for the artist as he wrangled with pictorial problems in his painterly practice. Reclining nude I (Aurora) was a particularly favorite motif, and he included its image in a number of paintings. Matisse often incorporated objects from his studio in his compositions, but he would depict this sculpture far more often than any other. In two works dated 1927 and 1929, he returned to the pose of this work, greatly simplifying the contours of its silhouette. This was characteristic of Matisse, who often worked in series where he repeatedly manipulated the same form.

Label from Matisse and the Art of Jazz, January 20–July 1, 2018