Nu allongé 1928

Henri Matisse made this drawing, "Nu allongé," using graphite on paper. The reclining nude has roots stretching back to antiquity, where the form was often associated with Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. Consider Titian's "Venus of Urbino," where the goddess reclines luxuriously, gazing directly at the viewer, a motif echoing through history. But here, Matisse strips away the overt mythological references, and leaves an anonymous woman reclining on her side, and gazing out past the viewer. Yet the echo of Venus remains, does it not? The gesture, the pose—it’s a dance of memory and desire, a subconscious echo resonating through the ages. The female nude is not merely a form, it is a symbol. A symbol of the power of beauty that has cyclically resurfaced and evolved across time.