Study for The Back (II) by Henri Matisse is a significant drawing executed in 1913, demonstrating the artist’s foundational preparatory processes for one of his most important sculptural series. This delicate yet powerful work, rendered in black ink on lined paper, shows Matisse’s relentless exploration of the female nude and his focus on contour and mass. The utilization of readily available lined paper suggests the intimate, immediate nature of the study, captured perhaps quickly in a notebook or sketchpad, prioritizing structure and volume over finished detail.
Created around c. 1913, this particular piece relates directly to the first major conceptual shifts Matisse undertook for his monumental bas-reliefs collectively titled The Back (Nu de dos). While the execution of the full relief series spanned nearly two decades (1909-1930) and showed a progressive movement toward radical abstraction, this drawing captures the subject at an earlier, more anatomically descriptive stage. The study focuses keenly on the verticality and structural anatomy of the standing figure, mapping the complex interplay of light, shadow, and line that the artist would later translate into three dimensions. The strong, calligraphic line work employed by Matisse during this period defines the powerful, almost architectural quality of the subject’s form.
As a preliminary work, this drawing provides vital insight into Matisse’s methodology and his transition from the vibrant flatness of Fauvism toward the more structural and volumetric approaches seen later in his career. The detailed handling of the ink and the inherent simplicity of the medium make the study a critical reference point for scholars examining the development of early 20th-century French drawing and sculpture. The work is formally classified as a drawing and resides in the renowned collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. High-quality prints and references to this key work are frequently featured in publications documenting the history of modern art.
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