Henri Matisse (1869-1954)

Wanda de Guébriant confirmed the authenticity of this work in 2008.

With its flowing line and the implied exoticism of the pomegranates, flowers and goblet, Scène d'intérieur is an enchanting glimpse into the lyrical world of Matisse. His was a world dedicated to beauty, and the deceptive simplicity, the sheer economy of means with which he has rendered this scene, allowing the paper itself to add a glowing luminosity, perfectly encapsulate this. 'My line drawing is the purest and most direct translation of my emotion,' Matisse explained. 'Simplification of means allows that. But those drawings are more complete than they appear to some people who confuse them with a sketch. They generate light; looked at in poor, or indirect light, they contain not only quality and sensibility, but also light and difference in values corresponding obviously to colour…’ (Matisse, quoted in V.I. Carlson, ed., Matisse as a Draughtsman, exh. cat., Baltimore, 1971, p. 18).

This lyrical vision of fluidity and graceful elegance in Scène d'intérieur dates from April 1944, a period when Matisse’s work had been marked by what he himself termed as a 'floraison', a flowering. This had in part begun following an emergency operation from which he had feared he would not recover. Writing a couple of years earlier, he explained: 'My terrible operation has completely rejuvenated and made a philosopher of me. I had so completely prepared for my exit from life, that it seems to me that I am in a second life' (Matisse, quoted in J. Cowart et al., exh. cat., Henri Matisse: Paper Cut-Outs, St Louis, 1977, p. 43). It is with unfettered enthusiasm that he has eloquently captured this 'second life' in Scène d'intérieur.