Artwork
Odalisque with a Screen
Odalisque with a Screen is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Henri Matisse. It dates from 1923 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Overview
Henri Matisse created the oil painting *Odalisque with a Screen* in 1923, situating the work within the later phase of his post‑Impressionist practice. The canvas is part of the permanent collection of Denmark’s Statens Museum for Kunst, where it is displayed among other early‑20th‑century modernist works.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents a reclining female figure, bare‑chested and dressed in a striped white‑and‑yellow skirt cinched with a blue belt. Her hair is pulled back, and a gold necklace rests at her throat. The relaxed pose, arms lifted overhead, and intimate setting suggest a private, leisurely moment rather than a formal portrait.
Technique & Style
Matisse employs bold, fluid brushwork and a vivid palette that emphasizes contrast between the warm reds of the wall, the cool blues of the belt, and the bright greens of a nearby plant. A decorative screen with a floral motif frames the figure, reinforcing the artist’s interest in pattern and flat decorative surfaces.
Context
During the early 1920s Matisse explored Orientalist themes, drawing on the decorative arts of North Africa and the Middle East. The odalisque—a harem attendant—served as a conventional subject through which he could experiment with color, pattern, and the tension between figure and background.
Legacy
*Odalisque with a Screen* exemplifies Matisse’s mature synthesis of figure painting and ornamental design, influencing later modernists who pursued the integration of decorative motifs into fine art. Its presence in a national museum underscores the work’s role in representing the evolution of early‑20th‑century European painting.
Artist & collection
Artist
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (French: ; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship.
