Matisse At Villa Le Reve [Relié]

Henri Matisse lived at the villa Le Rêve in Vence from 1943 to1948. Here he created a sensuous world, bringing to Vence all the objects without which he could not draw and paint—jugs, vases, tables and chairs, shells, fabrics. A young Russian-born photographer, Hélène Adant, often came to visit her cousin Lydia Delectorskaya, who was Matisse's model and assistant from 1935 onward. Adant's photographs are a unique record, a series of freeze-frames that reveal the nature of Matisse's preparation for his art: perhaps an ornate Venetian chair partners a wrought-iron table displaying a yellow pitcher and melons; a pot of lilies or an octagonal Moroccan table are added. Matisse, hat on head, draws his Haitian model wearing a frilled blouse that Lydia has provided for the sitting.

Marie-France Boyer's text evokes the particular atmosphere of Le Rêve, where Matisse produced Yellow and Blue Interior of 1946, Large Red Interior