Lorette (Alternate Title)
Tête de Femme (Primary Title)
Laurette (Alternate Title)
Henri Matisse, French, 1869 - 1954 (Artist)
The leader of the lively and innovative Fauve group, Matisse defined the cutting edge in art. The 1913 Armory Show, which helped pave the way for modern art in the United States, featured a generous selection of his works. Extolled for their originality by some critics and reviled for their extremism by others, they created quite a stir. In 1917 and 1918 Matisse produced a series of nearly fifty paintings of an Italian artist’s model that mark his shift from a relatively severe and abstract manner to a more naturalistic mode, which would dominate his work in the 1920s. Here the face of Lorette overwhelms the visual field; its tones and colors are the same as those of the minimally painted background. Her expression is impassive,but her direct gaze helps to create a connection with the viewer.
Signed lower right: "Henri Matisse"
T. Catesby Jones Collection
Matisse, Picasso, and Modern Art in Paris: The T. Catesby Jones Collections at VMFA and the University of Virginia Art Museum, VMFA Statewide Exhibition, UVA, Charlottesville, January 30 - April 24, 2009; Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester, August 15 - November 29, 2009; William King Regional Art Center, Abingdon, December 11, 2009 - February 21, 2010
Modern French Painting, Norfolk Museum, March 1 - March 26, 1958; Mary Baldwin College, April 9 - April 19, 1958
Lynchburg Art Center, March 26 - April 16, 1954
Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, VA May 1953
"The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Roanoke," January 4 - 11, 1948
"Summer Exhibition: Painting and Sculpture from the Museum Collection and on Loan," The Museum of Modern Art, NY, June 23 - November 4, 1937
Modern French Painting, Norfolk Museum, March 1 - March 26, 1958; Mary Baldwin College, April 9 - April 19, 1958
Lynchburg Art Center, March 26 - April 16, 1954
Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, VA May 1953
"The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Roanoke," January 4 - 11, 1948
"Summer Exhibition: Painting and Sculpture from the Museum Collection and on Loan," The Museum of Modern Art, NY, June 23 - November 4, 1937
©artist or artist’s estate
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
