About this artwork
Matisse's sculptural method was indebted to Auguste Rodin. Like Rodin, Matisse modelled the skin with a rough texture that caught the light unevenly and gave his figures a lively, animated appearance. Jeanette II is one of a series of five busts of a young woman, Jeannette Vaderin, who was convalescing near Matisse's home in 1910. The first two busts were executed in front of the model and are quite naturalistic, while the three later versions are progressively more stylized. In this work, the hair is transformed into a sculptural wave, and the nose has been pushed sideways to give the woman a quizzical look.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Henri Matisse (1869 - 1954) French
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title:Jeannette II
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date created:1910
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materials:Bronze
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measurements:26.50 x 22.50 x 24.00 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 1978
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accession number:GMA 1995
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gallery:
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depicted:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse
Matisse began taking drawing classes as a way of relieving the boredom of his job as a solicitor's clerk. However, in 1891 he abandoned his legal career in favour of painting, studying at various schools in Paris. In 1905 he exhibited with a number of artists who were dubbed by a critic, Les fauves...