Three-Quarter Nude, Head Partly Showing (Nu de trois-quarts, une partie de la tête coupée)

Three-Quarter Nude, Head Partly Showing (Nu de trois-quarts, une partie de la tête coupée) is a significant lithograph created by the renowned French artist, Henri Matisse, in 1913. This work exemplifies Matisse’s deep and persistent exploration of the female form, utilizing the direct, graphic qualities inherent in the print medium rather than the lush color he employed in his contemporaneous paintings. The lithography technique, requiring the artist to draw directly onto the stone or plate, allowed Matisse to achieve subtle tonal variations and dynamic, expressive line work.

The subject is a nude figure presented in a three-quarter pose, rendered with bold, economical outlines. Stylistically, the composition is characterized by its simplicity and decisive use of negative space. The formal tension of the piece arises from the deliberate cropping, which excises a portion of the head, focusing intense attention on the figure's torso and the interplay between line and volume. This technique reflects Matisse’s commitment during this period to prioritizing form and structure over conventional representation or psychological detail, a tendency common among French Modernists.

The year 1913 marks a pivotal moment in Matisse’s career, coinciding with a critical move toward abstraction and simplification in his overall aesthetic. By revisiting the enduring theme of the reclining or seated nude, Matisse utilized this subject as a vehicle for formal experimentation, stripping away decorative elements to define volume through pure contour. This striking graphic piece demonstrates the artist’s mastery of the lithograph as both an independent art form and a laboratory for refining his drawn line. Today, the work is recognized as a key example of the artist’s output in prints and resides in the distinguished collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.