Odalisque, Brazier, and Bowl of Fruit

Henri Matisse

1929

Lithograph

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The reclining female nude has been a recurring subject in the history of Western European art. The 15th-century Renaissance tradition of depiction of erotic female nude in the guise of mythological goddesses gave way to the imaginary Orientalist genre scenes and reclining “Odalisque” paintings in the 19th-century. Odalisque, a female slave or concubine in imperial Ottoman harem, became an inspiring subject for many French masters including Henri Matisse. The reclining odalisque here, semi-dressed in exotic attire and placed against a richly patterned background of fabrics and oriental rugs, lends herself to the artist’s imagination.